This course explores the transnational contexts of United States cultural and intellectual history. Among the topics to be considered are the role of empire in shaping U.S. culture and institutions; immigration as a factor changing cultural and intellectual life; efforts within the U.S. to build or resist regional and global organizations; the role of the United States in the formation of global cultural markets; the interaction of political, social, and intellectual movements across borders; institutional, political, and cultural differences within the United States that shaped attitudes and actions in other parts of the world; the relation of what Joseph Nye has called ";soft power"; to U.S. military and economic expansion. In addition to shared readings, students will select an area of interest for deeper exploration and presentation to the class.