This book provides a theoretical framework for understanding cross-national cultural differences. Focusing on France and America, researchers from both countries analyse varying attitudes on a diverse range of topics from racism and sexual harassment to identity politics, publishing, journalism, the arts and the environment.

1. Introduction: toward a renewed comparative cultural sociology Michèle Lamont and Laurent Thévenot; Part I. Race, Gender, and Multiculturalism: 2. The rhetorics of racism and anti-racism in France and the United States Michèle Lamont; 3. Sexual harassment in France and the United States: activists and public figures defend their definitions Abigail Cope Saguy; 4. Assessing the literary; intellectual boundaries in French and American literary studies Jason Duell; Part II. The Cultural Sphere: Publishing, Journalism, and the Arts: 5. Culture or commerce? Symbolic boundaries in French and American book publishing Daniel Weber; 6. Involvement and detachment among French and American journalists: to be or not to be a 'real' professional Cyril Lemieux and John Schmalzbauer; 7. From rejection of contemporary art to culture war Nathalie Heinich; Part III. Political Cultures and Practices; 8. Community and civic culture: the Rotary Club in France and the United States Agnès Camus-Vigué; 9. Political practice and culture in French and American environmental disputes: 9a. French and American disputes: an introduction Claudette Lafaye, Michael Moody and Laurent Thévenot; 9b. Forms of valuing nature: arguments and modes of justification in French and American environmental disputes Laurent Thévenot, Michael Moody and Claudette Lafaye; 9c. Comparing models of strategy, interests, and the public good in French and American environmental disputes Michael Moody and Laurent Thévenot; 10. Conclusion: Exploring the French and the American polity Laurent Thèvenot and Michèle Lamont.