Postapocalyptic Fantasies in Antebellum American Literature
Part of Cambridge Studies in American Literature and Culture
- Author: John Hay, University of Nevada, Las Vegas
- Date Published: October 2017
- availability: Available
- format: Hardback
- isbn: 9781108418249
Hardback
Other available formats:
eBook
Looking for an inspection copy?
This title is not currently available for inspection. However, if you are interested in the title for your course we can consider offering an inspection copy. To register your interest please contact [email protected] providing details of the course you are teaching.
-
Even before the Civil War, American writers were imagining life after a massive global catastrophe. For many, the blank slate of the American continent was instead a wreckage-strewn wasteland, a new world in ruins. Bringing together epic and lyric poems, fictional tales, travel narratives, and scientific texts, Postapocalyptic Fantasies in Antebellum American Literature reveals that US authors who enthusiastically celebrated the myths of primeval wilderness and virgin land also frequently resorted to speculations about the annihilation of civilizations, past and future. By examining such postapocalyptic fantasies, this study recovers an antebellum rhetoric untethered to claims for historical exceptionalism - a patriotic rhetoric that celebrates America while denying the United States a unique position outside of world history. As the scientific field of natural history produced new theories regarding biological extinction, geological transformation, and environmental collapse, American writers responded with wild visions of the ancient past and the distant future.
Read more- Offers literary historical research into many non-fiction sources (not just fiction and poetry), making it appealing to a wide array of readers interested in American literature, culture, and history
- Different sections are devoted to canonical and non-canonical authors and texts, allowing instructors to use different sections for different purposes
- Designed for easy use by scholarly readers, allowing them to effortlessly use the text as a reference guide
- This book addresses Postapocalyptic fantasies
Customer reviews
Not yet reviewed
Be the first to review
Review was not posted due to profanity
×Product details
- Date Published: October 2017
- format: Hardback
- isbn: 9781108418249
- length: 250 pages
- dimensions: 235 x 158 x 18 mm
- weight: 0.49kg
- contains: 9 b/w illus.
- availability: Available
Table of Contents
Introduction
1. The American Noah
2. Narratives of extinction and the last man
3. The magnificent mound builders
4. History unearthed
5. Contact at Ktaadn
6. The revolutionary ruins of the New West
7. Postapocalyptic postscript.
Sorry, this resource is locked
Please register or sign in to request access. If you are having problems accessing these resources please email [email protected]
Register Sign in» Proceed
You are now leaving the Cambridge University Press website. Your eBook purchase and download will be completed by our partner www.ebooks.com. Please see the permission section of the www.ebooks.com catalogue page for details of the print & copy limits on our eBooks.
Continue ×Are you sure you want to delete your account?
This cannot be undone.
Thank you for your feedback which will help us improve our service.
If you requested a response, we will make sure to get back to you shortly.
×