{"id":{"repo_id":"ohiolink","oai_identifier":"oai:etd.ohiolink.edu:bgsu1363444775"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/ohiolink/oai:etd.ohiolink.edu:bgsu1363444775","repository":{"repo_id":"ohiolink","name":"OhioLINK","base_url":"https://etd.ohiolink.edu/acprod/odb_etd/ws/oai/oai"},"display":{"title":"Deconstruction of American Exceptionalism in the Collaborative Works of John Adams and Peter Sellars","abstract":"Opera is widely stigmatized by academics and non-academics alike as inaccessible high art, even by humanities scholars who commonly appreciate the classics in their own field. In order to overcome that stigmatization, I have chosen two seminal American operas by composer John Adams—1987's <i>Nixon in China</i> and 2005's <i>Doctor Atomic</i>—and examined their presentation and deconstruction of the popular ideology of American Exceptionalism. These two operas have much in common: both adapt history and mythologize it into a cultural narrative; both respond to their own historical moments in order to make statements about American culture; both elicit meaningful questions about American ideologies and traditions. In this project, I focus on the ways that these operas present American cultural identity by analyzing the operas' portrayals of American Exceptionalism. I point out examples of Exceptionalism in practice, such as the justification for the War on Terror and U.S. foreign policy during the Cold War, when spreading democracy abroad became a primary military goal. Both operas demonstrate this notion of the U.S. having a right to rule and respond to it in different ways. By examining how each of these operas address, and occasionally deconstruct, Exceptionalism, I argue that these operas help destabilize the faulty ideologies that inform U.S. foreign policy, thereby enabling civic participation and change.","abstract_html":"Opera is widely stigmatized by academics and non-academics alike as inaccessible high art, even by humanities scholars who commonly appreciate the classics in their own field. In order to overcome that stigmatization, I have chosen two seminal American operas by composer John Adams—1987&#x27;s &lt;i&gt;Nixon in China&lt;/i&gt; and 2005&#x27;s &lt;i&gt;Doctor Atomic&lt;/i&gt;—and examined their presentation and deconstruction of the popular ideology of American Exceptionalism. These two operas have much in common: both adapt history and mythologize it into a cultural narrative; both respond to their own historical moments in order to make statements about American culture; both elicit meaningful questions about American ideologies and traditions. In this project, I focus on the ways that these operas present American cultural identity by analyzing the operas&#x27; portrayals of American Exceptionalism. I point out examples of Exceptionalism in practice, such as the justification for the War on Terror and U.S. foreign policy during the Cold War, when spreading democracy abroad became a primary military goal. Both operas demonstrate this notion of the U.S. having a right to rule and respond to it in different ways. By examining how each of these operas address, and occasionally deconstruct, Exceptionalism, I argue that these operas help destabilize the faulty ideologies that inform U.S. foreign policy, thereby enabling civic participation and change.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Laur, Lauren A."],"institution":"Bowling Green State University","degree_name":"Master of Arts (MA)","degree_level":"masters","degree_discipline":"English/Literature","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Sheffer, Jolie"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2013,"date_issued":"2013-05-01","date_published":"2013-05-01","updated_at":"2026-07-24T03:36:39Z","subjects":["American Studies","Literature","Music","Opera","Doctor Atomic","Nixon in China","American Exceptionalism","American Culture Studies","John Adams","Peter Sellars"],"languages":["English"],"rights":["unrestricted","This thesis or dissertation is protected by copyright: all rights reserved. It may not be copied or redistributed beyond the terms of applicable copyright laws."],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu1363444775","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Sheffer, Jolie"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Laur, Lauren A."]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date","label":"Dc Date","values":["2013-05-01"]},{"key":"dc:publisher","label":"Institution","values":["Bowling Green State University / OhioLINK"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["Electronic Thesis or Dissertation"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["English/Literature"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["masters"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Arts (MA)"]},{"key":"thesis:institution_name","label":"Thesis Institution Name","values":["Bowling Green State University"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["American Studies","Literature","Music","Opera","Doctor Atomic","Nixon in China","American Exceptionalism","American Culture Studies","John Adams","Peter Sellars"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:language","label":"Dc Language","values":["English"]},{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["unrestricted","This thesis or dissertation is protected by copyright: all rights reserved. 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These two operas have much in common: both adapt history and mythologize it into a cultural narrative; both respond to their own historical moments in order to make statements about American culture; both elicit meaningful questions about American ideologies and traditions. In this project, I focus on the ways that these operas present American cultural identity by analyzing the operas' portrayals of American Exceptionalism. I point out examples of Exceptionalism in practice, such as the justification for the War on Terror and U.S. foreign policy during the Cold War, when spreading democracy abroad became a primary military goal. Both operas demonstrate this notion of the U.S. having a right to rule and respond to it in different ways. By examining how each of these operas address, and occasionally deconstruct, Exceptionalism, I argue that these operas help destabilize the faulty ideologies that inform U.S. foreign policy, thereby enabling civic participation and change."]},{"key":"dc:format","label":"Dc Format","values":["application/pdf","p.82","576. KB"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Deconstruction of American Exceptionalism in the Collaborative Works of John Adams and Peter Sellars"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Sheffer, Jolie"],"dc:creator":["Laur, Lauren A."],"dc:date":["2013-05-01"],"dc:description":["Opera is widely stigmatized by academics and non-academics alike as inaccessible high art, even by humanities scholars who commonly appreciate the classics in their own field. In order to overcome that stigmatization, I have chosen two seminal American operas by composer John Adams—1987's <i>Nixon in China</i> and 2005's <i>Doctor Atomic</i>—and examined their presentation and deconstruction of the popular ideology of American Exceptionalism. These two operas have much in common: both adapt history and mythologize it into a cultural narrative; both respond to their own historical moments in order to make statements about American culture; both elicit meaningful questions about American ideologies and traditions. In this project, I focus on the ways that these operas present American cultural identity by analyzing the operas' portrayals of American Exceptionalism. I point out examples of Exceptionalism in practice, such as the justification for the War on Terror and U.S. foreign policy during the Cold War, when spreading democracy abroad became a primary military goal. Both operas demonstrate this notion of the U.S. having a right to rule and respond to it in different ways. By examining how each of these operas address, and occasionally deconstruct, Exceptionalism, I argue that these operas help destabilize the faulty ideologies that inform U.S. foreign policy, thereby enabling civic participation and change."],"dc:format":["application/pdf","p.82","576. KB"],"dc:identifier":["http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu1363444775"],"dc:language":["English"],"dc:publisher":["Bowling Green State University / OhioLINK"],"dc:rights":["unrestricted","This thesis or dissertation is protected by copyright: all rights reserved. It may not be copied or redistributed beyond the terms of applicable copyright laws."],"dc:subject":["American Studies","Literature","Music","Opera","Doctor Atomic","Nixon in China","American Exceptionalism","American Culture Studies","John Adams","Peter Sellars"],"dc:title":["Deconstruction of American Exceptionalism in the Collaborative Works of John Adams and Peter Sellars"],"dc:type":["Electronic Thesis or Dissertation"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["English/Literature"],"thesis:degree_level":["masters"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Arts (MA)"],"thesis:institution_name":["Bowling Green State University"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T03:36:39Z"}