What does is mean to be an American?  And why do we Americans obsess so much over the question of what it means to be an American?  This nagging question has plagued our nation since its birth and various national “myths” have been advanced to offer some form of national identity and cohesion.  At times one myth has proven stronger than the others, only to be overshadowed as historical events call its sufficiency and truth into question.  So where does that leave us today in an era of collective, existential crisis?

Joining Saving Elephants host Josh Lewis to explore these questions is George Washington University associate professor of political science Samuel Goldman.

About Samuel Goldman

Samuel Goldman is an associate professor of political science at George Washington University, where he is also executive director of the John L. Loeb, Jr. Institute for Religious Freedom and director of the Politics & Values Program.

Samuel is the Editor of FUSION, an online journal inspired by the belief that Western civilization is defined by intertwined threads of freedom and tradition, innovation and order, rights and duties.  In addition to academic work, his writing has appeared in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and many other publications.

His most recent book, After Nationalism: Being American in a Divided Age was published by University of Pennsylvania Press in spring 2021.  His first book God’s Country: Christian Zionism in America was published by the University of Pennsylvania Press in 2018.  Samuel received his Ph.D. from Harvard and taught at Harvard and Princeton before coming to GW.  You can follow Samuel on Twitter @SWGoldman