通过学习“美国社会与文化”课程，学生能更加全面地认识美国社会，客观看待中美的差异。我国的英语教学文化生态长期存在不平衡：教育过分偏重英语国家社会文化的引入，忽视了“应当把中国文化的表达贯穿到各层次英语教学之中”，文化教学课程中的思政教育未成体系。因此我们在编纂本书的同时，融入了教学思政元素，使本书能更好地适应当前教学改革，更适合培养学生综合素质的需要。 本书可供全国高等院校非英语专业展开文化类课程使用，也可供英语专业开展选修课使用，还可供对美国社会与文化兴趣颇深的读者阅读使用。

Unit 1 A Panoramic View of American Culture
Text A American Culture
Text B Five Famous Symbols of American Culture
Unit 2 American Values and Beliefs
Text A Typical American Values and Beliefs
Text B Ramble about Values
Unit 3 The American Character
Text A The Typical American Character
Text B "You Might Be An American If..."
Unit 4 The American Frontier Heritage
Text A The American Frontier Heritage and the Multiplicity of Individualism
Text B Rugged Individuals
Unit 5 Education in the United States
Text A The American Education Ideal and the Education System
Text B Challenges in American Higher Education
Unit 6 Government and Politics in the U.S.
Text A The Organization of the American Government
Text B Congress, Welfare State and Special Interest Groups
Unit 7 A Nation of Immigrants
Text A The American Mosaic
Text B The History of Chinese Americans
Unit 8 Love and Marriage in the U.S.A.
Text A American Love and Marriage
Text B Generational Perspectives Views on Love and Marriage in U.S.A.
Unit 9 Family Life in the U.S.A.
Text A Family Life in the U.S.
Text B Divorce
Unit 10 American Holidays and Vacation
Text A American Holidays
Text B Vacations
Unit 11 American Literature
Text A Overview of American Literature
Text B How to Read and Understand Classic Literature
Unit 12 Leisure Time in the U.S.A.
Text A Sports in the U.S.A.
Text B Jazz
Text C Hollywood: How the American Movie Industry Was Born