This book project provides a deep exploration of the meanings of a variety of major United States national symbols, including the national flag, the national emblem (which entails the national bird), the national anthem, the national constitution, the national flower, the national animal, the national dish, and the national dance. The author uses various tools from Semiotics (i.e. the systematic study of signs and symbols), Pragmatic Linguistic Analysis (i.e. the systematic examination of how context shapes meaning, focusing on speaker’s intended meaning), and Fractal Analysis (i.e. the utilization of mathematical methods suitable for investigating the complexity, irregularity, and self-similarity of patterns in phenomena), resulting in an interdisciplinary examination of the symbols and what they mean for US national identity. This book will be of interest to a wide readership across fields including Political Science, History, Linguistics, Mathematics, American Studies, Sociology, and Philosophy.

Abdul Karim Bangura is the putative Dean and Senior Mentor of the CODESRIA College of Mentors Institute for doctoral candidates based in Dakar, Senegal; director of The African Institution in Washington DC, USA; a Visiting Graduate Professor of Regional Integration at the University of Cabo Verde in Praia, Cabo Verde; and the International Director and Adviser of the Centro Cultural Guanin in Santo Domingo Este, Dominican Republic. He holds five PhDs in Political Science, Development Economics, Linguistics, Computer Science, and Mathematics; and he is the author, co-author and editor-contributor of 114 other books and 712 scholarly articles.