The Transnational Turn in American Studies

Book excerpt: Over the past decade, a new transnational movement has emerged within American Studies. It centers on the efforts of US-based Americanists to conduct transnational and comparative research while recognizing that scholars working outside the geographical boundaries of the US have just as much to contribute to American Studies as those within its borders. Such an approach not only fills in the blanks of historical, literary and cultural studies to include diasporic participants, but also enriches our understanding of major American events, figures, and influences beyond the limited geographic framework of the United States. Despite increasing interest, transnational American Studies remains a subdiscipline, or one of a host of many «side interests» for most scholars. There exist few booklength studies which examine American Studies from the Turkish perspective, and little on the contributions of Turkey to American culture. This interdisciplinary volume seeks to begin a transnational dialogue between Turkey and the United States by highlighting the work that is being conducted by noted Turkish academics, American researchers, as well as foreign scholars working in Turkey, many of whom are living examples of transnationality.