American exceptionalism

American exceptionalism is an ideology that says that the United States occupies a special place in the world--that it is unique. This emphasis on the unique in American culture goes beyond our concept of nationhood. I have been working on an article that compares US and others in terms of higher education accreditation and quality assurance. While most part of the world are obsessed with comparisons, particularly numerical comparisons and "benchmarking," the culture of higher education in the United Statues sees each institution as not comparable to any other. While other parts of the world have government bodies that mandate particular types of oversight and structures of quality control, including measures, in the U.S. we have the tradition of self-assessing through regional bodies such as the North Central Accreditation Association. And the focus has traditionally been on assessing whether you do what you say you do--are you fulfilling your mission? Generally one institution is not looking over the shoulder of another in terms of their North Central accreditation results and report. In Hong Kong, all the institutions are trying to move up in comparison to other institutions in Hong Kong when they go through their quality review.

Personally I believe the American model is the better one, with the exception of American exceptionalism which at times interferes with seeking out best practices and comparing yourself with others in order to see if how you are doing as an institution. It can keep institutions focused internally. It can continually provide an excuse for not improving--nobody does it like we do so we can't compare...

Hong Kong institutions obsess with rankings amongst reviews. U.S. institutions justify their lack of comparison. Both need to work at development meaningful comparisons FOR THE PURPOSE OF LEARNING! Higher education is about the business of learning. Any form of assessment, including comparisons needs to have this focus.

As a geographer I have always been fascinated by the American exceptionalism that shows up in discussions around family history. Everyone focuses on the unique--an ancestor who came with the Pilgrims on the Mayflower. As a geographer I have always been more fascinated by how my family fit into the larger pattern--how they were NOT exceptional. In graduate school I read the classic, Historical Geography of the United States, by Ralph Brown. Brown includes a quote about Faribault, Minnesota in the summer 1857.

"...it was almost impossible to get a place to sleep at any price. Real estate dealers, lawyers, and business men in general are here by the hundreds. The opening up of the land ofice has drawn them. It is estimated that over 1000 men have arrived within the last two days. Board at the best houses ranges at from 3 to 6 dollars a day."

That was exactly when my ancestors showed up in Faribault.