For years, the R-MWC community would ask us this question. We would respond vaguely: "Well, each spring we cover great themes in American culture, themes like democracy, capitalism, race, gender...you know, all those things that make America so interesting to study."

But something was missing. Our interrogators were expecting excitement, something like "In the Footsteps of Lewis and Clark," or "Americans in Paris," the subjects of two popular AmCP summer sessions.

We needed a descriptive title for our semester-long program, a title better than "Great Themes in American Culture." So last May a group of faculty convened to discuss ways we could better describe what happens in the American Culture Program--because, truth is, unless you have been in it, you will have a hard time understanding what it is. A descriptive title, however, would help.

Program faculty tossed out a number of enticing titles: "Crime and Punishment," thinking about this nation's industrial prison complex; "Who Owns the Flag?," trying to define patriotism; "American Foodways," examining who we are by what we eat; "Bad Boys," rediscovering the American rebel. But could any of these topics alone sustain a 12-credit-hour block of study?

Then Professor Jim Hoban (communications) offered "America Exposed!" We all had a good laugh at the tabloid possibilities.

Later, when Program Coordinator Emily Johns and I were sorting through suggestions, we kept returning to Professor Hoban's title. As a veteran of the Program, Hoban knew that we strip away America's ideal veneer in order to examine its core reality. Sometimes uncomfortable, often provocative, always revealing--yes, "America Exposed!" seems to say it all.

America Exposed promotional posters (Download the four provocative images. PDF Format requires Adobe Acrobat Reader, for viewing.)

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