Deconstruction of American Exceptionalism in the Collaborative Works of John Adams and Peter Sellars

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.

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Arts (MA)

Level thesis:degree_level

masters

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

English/Literature

Grantor dc:publisher

Bowling Green State University

Year dc:date

2013

Author dc:creator

• Laur, Lauren A.

Contributors dc:contributor

• Sheffer, Jolie

• American Studies
• Literature
• Music
• Opera
• Doctor Atomic
• Nixon in China
• American Exceptionalism
• American Culture Studies
• John Adams
• Peter Sellars

Statement 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.

Language dc:language

English

Repository record dc:identifier

http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu1363444775

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:etd.ohiolink.edu:bgsu1363444775