For audio of an interview with Markovits,
OXFORD, Miss. – Fat. Stupid. Uneducated. Uncultured. If
these insults were aimed at someone because of their ethnic
background, skin color or religion, a sense of outrage
might not be far behind.
However, in Europe, directing such barbs toward Americans
is not only considered OK but they’re also spoken with
pride, said Andrei Markovits, author of “Uncouth Nation:
Why Europe Dislikes America” (Princeton, 2007).
Markovits plans to discuss his book Feb. 6 at the
University of Mississippi. The 7 p.m. program in the Croft
Institute, Room 107, is free and open to the public as part
of the institute’s Spring Speaker Series.
“Since 1960, I cannot recall a time like the present, when
such a vehement aversion to everything American has been
articulated in Europe,” Markovits writes in the book’s
introduction. “No West European country is exempt from this
phenomenon – not a single social class, age group,
profession or gender.”
Contrary to popular belief, anti-Americanism has a longer
history than most people realize, dating as far back as the
Revolutionary War, Markovits said. Lately, that sentiment
seems to have been amplified by America’s dominance on the
world stage.
“It’s not anti-American if you think invading Iraq was
completely wrong; you can have a debate about that,”
Markovits said. “Anti-Americanism is saying, ‘Of course,
they got it wrong precisely because they’re all fat, dumb,
uncultured Americans.’ At dinner parties in London, you’re
somewhat expected to have this contempt for everything
American, and nobody blinks an eye.”
Alice Cooper, associate professor of political science,
helped arrange Markovits’ visit to UM. She said she expects
his lecture to add much needed perspective to America’s
increasing unpopularity.
“It’s surprising how far back it goes,” said Cooper, who
first met Markovits while she was pursuing a graduate
degree at Harvard. “Professor Markovits does a great job of
tracing Europe’s negative images of the U.S. through
history. Anti-Americanism is much more far-reaching than
just criticism of policies such as the Iraq war. It’s
cultural as well. People will come away from his speech
with a better grasp of the complexity of anti-Americanism
in Europe.”
Markovits is the Karl W. Deutsch Collegiate Professor of
Comparative Politics and German Studies in the Department
of Germanic Languages and Literatures at the University of
Michigan. He received several degrees from Columbia
University, including a Ph.D. in political science
For more information about the Croft Institute, go to
http://www.croft.olemiss.edu. For assistance related to a
disability, call 662-915-1500.
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