Americanization is sometimes seen as a unilateral and undesirable invasion of cultural influences and products originating in America. This anthology suggests instead that, although countries in Europe receive, adapt, and transform American products, images, or symbols, we also leave much aside along with a real sense of the historical and cultural complexity of a nation like America.

It is this complexity that Notions of America: Swedish Perspectives wishes to point to, with scholarly essays on Americanization, American history, and American literature presented at an international American Studies conference held in the English Department at Södertörn University College.

This anthology offers a variety of learning opportunities and a chance to sample the work of scholars across a number of subject areas. Challenging all of us to venture beyond the borders of our own disciplines, moreover, these essays invite questions about what we do as academics, compelling us to think deeply about our profession, our educational aims, our personal commitments, and how aims and commitments are inevitably rooted in social and political networks.