A Sampler of American Concerns

At a time when world hierarchies are perpetually chal­lenged, while power relations never cease to shift and create tension, values, symbols, meanings, ideals must be constantly reevaluated, reshaped, updated, interpreted anew. It is the very invitation that the American Studies team at the West University of Timişoara extends via this collection of articles, which includes diverse points of view and a plurality of discourses that do not solely revolve around Americanness. They also foreground essential concepts and cardinal values such as empathy, humanity, inclusiveness, survival, which seem to have been con­ stantly confronted with the upsurge of violence, prejudice, segregation, greed. In the traditional battle between good and evil, reading, writing, and research constitute intellec­tual tools that may, eventually, prove more efficient than weapons. Thus, such abundant, yet coherent individual and collective efforts towards an informed comprehension of the United States’ unique and, nevertheless, relatable cultural space are as rare as they are valuable and note­worthy.