LibGuides: American Cultural Signifiers: Home

Books in the Library

Here are some examples of books on various aspects of American culture and history in the library. To find more, try searching the library catalog specifically for your topic -- for example, "fast food" or "walmart". Or, if you are still deciding on a topic try something general, like "American inventions".

Disney: the first 100 years
Call Number: OVR 791.4309 S645d
ISBN: 0786864427
A celebration of a century of Disney explores the corporation's many groundbreaking moves, such as the jump to television, theme parks, and the revitalization of the company.
Google: Corporations that changed the world
Call Number: 338.7 SCO
ISBN: 9780313351273
Discusses the origins, development, and strategy of Google, an Internet search engine that reinvented how people work and live online, with biographies of the founders and a discussion of the company's innovations.
Fast Food Nation: the dark side of the all-American meal
Call Number: 664 SCH
ISBN: 0060938455
Digs into the deeper meaning of Burger King, McDonald's, Little Caesar's, and many other examples of fast food in America. Frequently using McDonald's as a template, the author explains how the development of fast-food has led to the standardization of American culture, widespread obesity, urban sprawl and more.
Engines of Change: a history of the American dream in fifteen cars
Call Number: 629.222 ING
ISBN: 1451640633
Chronicles fifteen iconic car models to discuss how these automobiles reflect key cultural shifts, as well as developments in such areas as manufacturing, women's rights, and environmental awareness.
Great Projects: the epic story of the building of America
Call Number: 609 T629g
ISBN: 0743210646
A history of American engineering through the story of eight great enterprises, including Edison's light, electricity, the Internet, and the Hoover Dam.

Library Databases

Salem History & Literature
A collection of ebooks available through the library. The series "Great Events from History" contains articles on great inventions and developments throughout world history (including American history). For example, search "internet" and you will find articles such as "Google Is Founded", and "Amazon.com Sells Its First Book Online". Each article provides a summary of the event as well as its historical and cultural significance.
Academic Search Premier (EBSCO)
A database of news and scholarly (academic) articles, from thousands of journals and magazines. Above the search bar, click "Choose Databases" and select MasterFILE Premier and Academic Search Premier to search both simultaneously.

Try a search string combining several keywords:

"comic books" AND (united states OR america*) AND culture
"theme park*" AND (united states OR america*) AND culture

Citing Sources

Noodletools
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Purdue OWL: Research and Writing
MLA In-Text Citations (Purdue OWL)
Sample MLA Works Cited List (Purdue OWL)

Off campus?

For access to the databases from off campus, email the librarians for passwords.