"American" studies resources

Yes, so I've been having a bit of a "musicals" obsession lately...

Remember I sent you all that email about how the song "American Dream" might be interesting to look at in the context of an American history course or any kind of reflection on "what does it mean to be American" or "what is American"?

Well, I just re-discovered the soundtrack to "Ragtime," a Broadway musical that opened in 1998 and which I saw in Greenville my sophomore year at Furman... and it's fabulous for examining issues of race, immigration, etc... and the "American dream." Takes place in the 1920s, NYC. Nice song called "success" talks about "America, the land of success," etc... among one of its main characters is a Jewish immigrant from Eastern Europe who arrives thinking everything will be hunky dory in America and of course, discovered otherwise. It would be great for an American history class b/c it refers to the reform movements of the time, talks about the development of Ragtime, the womens' suffragist movement, immigrant workers' rights, etc... with lots of references to historical figures (lol, one of my favorite lines in the "success" song is... "I'm J.P Morgan, my friends, the wealthiest man on this earth!! You immigrants, look up to me, and you'll see what money is worth!" LOL... sung in a totally cheesy "musical" tune--it's great. HAHAH.)

Anyway, if anyone has any other ideas as to articles, pop culture things, music, movies, plays, etc that examine the question of "what is America"? please post them here and comments...

~Tracy