Flagging Patriotism Crises of Narcissism and Anti-Americanism

The question "Why do they hate us?" is one of the most oft-cited puzzles of contemporary American affairs, yet it’s not clear to whom "they" or "us" refers, nor even what "hate" means. In this bold new work, Ella Shohat and Robert Stam take apart the "hate discourse" of right-wing politics, placing it in an international context. How, for example, do other nations love themselves, and how is that love connected to their attitudes toward America? Is love of country "monogamous" or can one love many countries? When can a country’s self-love be a symptom of self-hatred? Drawing upon their extensive experience with South American, European, and Middle Eastern societies, the authors have written a long engagement with a problem that refuses to go away. Flagging Patriotism considers these complex features of "being patriotic," and in so doing insists that the idea of patriotism, instead of being rejected or embraced, be accorded the complex identity it possesses.

Preface: Love, Hate, and the Nation-StateI. On Narcissism and ExceptionalismPatriotism: Myths that Bind and BlindThe Angels, and Devils, of HistoryU.S. Exceptionalism: The City on the HillFrench Exceptionalism: Grandeur and la Mission CivilisatriceExceptionalism Light: God is Brazilian II. Variations on an Anti-American ThemeSibling Rivalries: Anti-Americanism in FranceL’Obsession: Anti-Americanism after 9/11Imaginary Tribes: the Anglo-SaxonsBrazil and the Collosus to the NorthThe View from the SouthFrom Francophilia to FrancophobiaAnti-French Hysteria and the American RightAnti-Semitism, Misogny, and the NeoConsIII. Discrepant Histories of CitizenshipNew Debates about Old RevolutionsIn the Name of God and the RepublicFoundational ContradictionsCitizenship in BrazilConstitutions and their DiscontentsThe Crisis of American Freedom Disjunctive DemocracyIV. Political Sense, Cultural NonsenseReturn to Exceptionalism: Socialism in AmericaThe Protestant Ethic/EthnicMisreading American ReligionAnglo-Saxons: the SequelLes Mains Salles, or Dirty HandsSubmerged Narcissisms Anti-Americanism: Dumb and SmartImrika Watani: An Arab-American Dirge for 9/11V. Contemporary Politics and the Crisis of DemocracyPricks and WimpsThe Fine Art of LyingFear, Catharsis and the Daily ShowSodomy, Sadism, and the Christian RightPatriotic BlackmailThe Pentagonization of PatriotismThe Demise of ReciprocityThe Illiberal MediaThe Wages of ExceptionalismVI. None Dare Call it PatriotismThe Contradictions of the RightWrestling with PatriotismWhy The Superpatriots are Not Patriots Patriotic FictionsPatriotism and the Pursuit of HappinessConclusionNotesIndex

Ella Shohat is Professor in the Departments of Art and Public Policy and Middle Eastern Studies at New York University. She is co-author, with Robert Stam, of Unthinking Eurocentrism, also published by Routledge. Her other books include Talking Visions: Multiculturalism in a Transnational Age, Israeli Cinema: East/West and the Politics of Representation, and Taboo Memories, Dasporic Voices.Robert Stam is University Professor of Cinema Studies at New York University. He is co-author, with Ella Shohat, of Unthinking Eurocentrism, and, with Robert Burgoyne and Sandy Flitterman-Lewis, of New Vocabularies in Film Semiotics, both published by Routledge. His many other books include Film Theory: An Introduction, A Companion to Film Theory, Film and Theory: An Anthology, and Tropical Multiculturalism: A Comparative History of Race in Brazilian Cinema and Culture.