Do Americans still believe in their myths?

10/13/2026

On Wednesday, 21 October 2026, the Schelling Forum will focus on the USA in the run-up to the landmark mid-term elections. A country caught between political division and unifying myths.

The greates country on earth? Can myths still keep the U.S. on track even in turbulent times? (Image: Schelling-Forum)

At present, there is much talk in the USA of conflict, division and civil war-like conditions; at the same time, however, the 250th anniversary of the world’s oldest democracy is being celebrated.

Professor Heike Paul, an American studies scholar, examines the influence and social cohesive power of the country’s political and cultural founding myths, which for a long time were widely regarded by consensus as the common basis of the nation’s self-image. These include the myths of discovery, expansion, the founding of the state and social mobility.

What validity and potential for integration do these myths hold today? Can they still serve to bring people together? How would the canon of myths need to change to do justice to contemporary socio-political developments?

Heike Paul explores these questions in her lecture and in the subsequent discussion with SWR editor Violetta Hagen. In the process, different political perspectives on American myths will be discussed and analysed – and we’d be delighted to include the audience in the discussion!

Venue and time

‘Do Americans still believe in their myths? The USA ahead of the mid-term elections’

When? Wednesday, 21 October 2026, 6.00 pm

Where? Schelling Forum, Klinikstraße 3, 97070 Würzburg

Lecture

Professor Heike Paul is Professor of American Studies at the Friedrich-Alexander University of Erlangen-Nuremberg, a member of the Bavarian Academy of Sciences and Humanities, and a member of the Schelling Forum’s Co-ordinating Committee. Her current research focuses on emotions in politics, American myths, and issues relating to gender and sustainability.

Moderator

Violetta Hagen is an editor at SWR Studio Stuttgart. Prior to this, she served as deputy head of the politics desk for the *Stuttgarter Zeitung* and *Stuttgarter Nachrichten*. She studied political science, peace studies and international politics in Erfurt, Tübingen and Haifa.