Coping with Anti Americanism: A Guide to Getting the Most out of  Studying Abroad is a long title for a longstanding problem for US students and other overseas Americans.  What happens if you are upset by, or need to deal with anti American comments? Comments that imply or (sometimes directly say)  Americans are stupid or the US is a bully or the US does not really have a history. In fact what is Anti Americanism? Is it just the government? (The answer is “no”)

A parallel and very thorny issue  is how do you really get to know a foreign country? How do you meet new people who can tell you about the society and what do you say to make yourself stand out from other Americans.  What are  the keys to penetrating  a society especially if you are in a large program surrounded by students from the US or other foreign countries?

I wrote Coping with Anti Americanism: A Guide to Getting the Most out of Studying Abroad to help demystify these issues and give practical advice in really settling into another country.   Anti American comments are hurtful.  If they are frequent they may tempt a student to retreat either physically or by not entering into a discussion.  But many anti American comments are based on ignorance, or on some internal issues in which the US is not the main player.

Understanding this can  take away a lot of the sting and help you to turn the subject around, to engage with others. And that means they will be more receptive to what you have to say about the US.  We need US students abroad to be good ambassadors and we need Americans who are very knowledgeable about other societies.  This book was written to help.

Available from  Amazon, Barnes and Noble and Blackwells.


One thought on “Book For Students and Expats on Coping with Anti-Americanism

  1. I just finished reading Coping with Anti-Americanism and really enjoyed the book! I think all U.S. students heading abroad for research and/or studies should add this book to their pre-departure checklist. Additionally, I think your book is an important read for study abroad program administrators and other campus/organizational stakeholders. Many thanks for writing the book!

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