Dianne Dentice

American Nationalism: Myth, Innuendo, and Imagination Dianne Dentice

Research for this project began when I was a doctoral student in Denton, Texas. I became interested in white supremacy during a graduate course dealing with Internet technology and communication. I found that groups such as the Ku Klux Klan and the National Alliance, among others, were active in the online environment. Having grown up in Texas, I was aware of underground Klan activities but I found it surprising that some Klan groups had sophisticated Web sites and were actively recruiting members. Eventually I discovered Stormfront.org and I wanted to find out if activists who attended rallies and other events had anything in common with their online counterparts. After spending two years in the field as an observer, conducting personal interviews, and making comparisons with Stormfront.org discussions, I discovered that strands of nationalist ideology permeate the contemporary movement and that similar issues drive personal activism in the field and in the online environment.