Contents -- Acknowledgements -- Notes on the Contributors -- Introduction: The Next American Century? -- Part 1: Politics -- 1. American Politics in the 1990s and 2000s -- 2. American Leadership into the New Century -- 3. 9/11 and US Foreign Policy -- 4. Three Variations on American Liberalism -- 5. The Rise of Postmodern Conservatism -- 6. US Propaganda -- Part 2: Society -- 7. Contemporary Social Criticism -- 8. Religion in Post-secular America -- 9. The US and Globalisation -- 10. The Future of Medicine -- 11. Technology in the 21st Century -- 12, America and the Environment -- Part 3: Culture -- 13. Contemporary American Culture -- 14. Cultural Pluralism and National Identity -- 15. Writing in the Wake of 9/11 -- 16. American Ways of Seeing -- 17. Television and DIgital Media -- 18. Animation and DIgital Culture -- Bibliography -- Index.