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Explores the history and nuances of the human rights idiom. Examples of Western human rights organizations; Information on books about human rights debates in China; Analysis of human rights activism.

Focuses on the emergence of human rights politics in the United States (US). Overview of human rights activism in 1970; Criticisms against the human rights movement; Mission and works of Amnesty International, a human rights organization in the US; Information on human rights legislation in 1975-1976.

Focuses on the practice of American history. Diversity and wariness among the profession; Intellectual conceit of progress; Scholarships; Complaints.

Discusses efforts to create an American English. Discussion of language; Idiomatic nationalism; Romantic language theory; Assimilation of words; Language features; Post-structuralism; Noah Webster.

Discusses the origins of communication research. Attitude of social scientists to the new field; Beginning of propaganda analysis; Emergence of the basic orientation of the field of communication research; Communication trends during the Cold War; Dealing with the problem of evil; Limits of visual communication.

The article evaluates the books that are just a sample of the material now pouring out of university and commercial presses. All this must also be set against the backdrop of the end of the cold war, which has liberated some nations, made others un-easy, and spawned a new bout of hysterical right-wing nationalism seen in figures like France's Jean-Marie Le Pen or Patrick Buchanan. The books here represent the range of thinking being done about the nation today. Liah Greenfeld and Julia Kristeva are willing to defend nationalism, albeit in strikingly different ways.