Professor Hua Hsu Considers the State of the American Dream in the New Yorker
Professor Hua Hsu wrote an essay about the evolving meaning of the American Dream for the New Yorker. Photo by Alex Hodor-Lee
Professor of Literature Hua Hsu published an article in the New Yorker titled “The Curious Career of ‘the American Dream,’” examining the origins of the famous phrase first popularized by historian James Truslow Adams in his 1931 book The Epic of America. Invoking a wide range of artists, journalists, historians, and other leading American thinkers alongside polling and reporting, Hsu explores how the meaning of the American Dream has evolved alongside shifting economic, social, and racial reality in the United States. Hsu concludes with a visit to the Milken Center for Advancing the American Dream in Washington, DC, just down the road from a heavily fortified White House, and conversations with his students about the country’s future.
“Despite America’s wealth and relative stability, numerous metrics suggest a country in distress, lagging behind other affluent nations in everything from life expectancy to results on surveys of global happiness and well-being,” writes Hsu. “Earning a college degree or owning a home was once not just a status marker but an investment that promised material returns. Today, people amass unmanageable debt simply to keep faith with a story that feels increasingly detached from their reality.”
Hsu teaches in the Literature Program at Bard, which emphasizes cultural, linguistic, and geographic diversity, challenging national, cultural, and disciplinary boundaries.
Post Date: 06-22-2026
“Despite America’s wealth and relative stability, numerous metrics suggest a country in distress, lagging behind other affluent nations in everything from life expectancy to results on surveys of global happiness and well-being,” writes Hsu. “Earning a college degree or owning a home was once not just a status marker but an investment that promised material returns. Today, people amass unmanageable debt simply to keep faith with a story that feels increasingly detached from their reality.”
Hsu teaches in the Literature Program at Bard, which emphasizes cultural, linguistic, and geographic diversity, challenging national, cultural, and disciplinary boundaries.
Post Date: 06-22-2026