Synopses & Reviews
In Redefining American Identity Ben Railton emphasizes, in contrast to both the traditional and multicultural narratives, a third possibility for what has been at the core of America since the first moments of contact: cross-cultural transformation, the way in which individuals and groups begin as part of relatively fixed cultural identities but experience complex shifts and transformations, across or through or toward other identities and cultures. Railton examines the personal narratives of five individuals who experienced such transformations, one from each century of post-contact America. He concludes by analyzing Barack Obama’s narrative of both his parents’ transformations and his own status as a descendent of this heritage, a status that all twenty-first-century Americans share
Review
“Benjamin Railtons book offers a novel framework for understanding the formation of individual and national identity. Railtons approach is fresh and compelling, and his textual readings are nuanced and persuasive. In all, the book contributes significantly to the scholarship in a variety of disciplines and interdisciplines, including American and ethnic studies, American literature, and American history.”—David S. Goldstein, Director of the Teaching and Learning Center and Senior Lecturer of Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences, University of Washington, Bothell “Theres much to admire in the details of Ben Railtons book, the illuminating analyses of figures as diverse as the early explorer Cabeza de Vaca and the American President Barack Obama, the surprising links Railton finds among those figures. But theres still more to admire in the way Railton has defined his large topic of American identity, the freshness and capaciousness of that definition. Sometimes defining a topic is itself a significant intellectual accomplishment, and thats what it is here; Railtons definition will help us understand where we live.”—Lawrence Rosenwald, Professor of English, Wellesley College
Synopsis
Using five personal narratives and in contrast to both the traditional and multicultural narratives, this book suggest cross-cultural transformation has been at the core of America since the first moments of contact.
Synopsis
In Redefining American Identity Ben Railton emphasizes, in contrast to both traditional and multicultural narratives, a third possibility for what has been at the core of the American experience since the first moments of contact: cross-cultural transformation, the process by which individuals and groups with relatively fixed cultural identities experience complex shifts across or toward new ones. Railton examines the personal narratives of six individuals who experienced such transformations, each taken from one century of post-contact America, from the explorer Cabeza de Vaca to the poet Gloria E. Anzaldúa to President Barack Obama.
About the Author
Ben Railton is Assistant Professor of English and the inaugural Coordinator of American Studies at Fitchburg State University. He is the author of Contesting the Past, Reconstructing the Nation: American Literature and Culture in the Gilded Age, 1876-1893 (2007) and of articles on Margaret Mitchell and William Faulkner, novelist-narrators in American fiction, twenty-first century ethnic American novels, Robert Penn Warrens All the Kings Men, and teaching ethnic American literature.
Table of Contents
Defining Transformations * Transformative Explorations: Cabeza de Vaca Changes His Skin * Unsettling Transformations: Mary Rowlandsons Removes * Revolutionary Transformations: Olaudah Equianos Fortunate Vicissitudes * Transformative Expansions: Sarah Winnemuccas Ideal Interpretations * Transformative Mixtures: Gloria Anzaldúas Hybrid Mosaic * Electing Transformation