Synopses & Reviews
The frontier reality of confronting new conditions, adapting cultural inclinations, and dealing with a volatile environment in an effort to establish and nurture new communities is central to the western Canadian experience. It has shaped many aspects of our heritage, and it is within that context the essays assembled here strive to identify and critique the impact of the frontier on our region, culture, and society.
Challenging Frontiers: The Canadian West is a multidisciplinary study using critical essays as well as creative writing to explore the conceptions of the "West," both past and present. Considering topics such as ranching, immigration, art and architecture, as well as globalization and the spread of technology, these articles inform the reader of the historical frontier and its mythology, while also challenging and reassessing conventional analysis. With a comprehensive introduction to situate the geographic and cultural boundaries of the western frontier, this collection is a must for anyone interested in uncovering what it means to be a westerner and how the new frontier has influenced every part of our society.
Synopsis
Challenging Frontiers: The Canadian West is a multidisciplinary study using critical essays as well as creative writing to explore the conceptions of the "West," both past and present. Considering topics such as ranching, immigration, art and architecture, as well as globalization and the spread of technology, these articles inform the reader of the historical frontier and its mythology, while also challenging and reassessing conventional analysis.
About the Author
Lorry Felske earned his PhD from the University of Toronto in History and is currently a professor at the University of Calgary in the Faculty of Communication and Culture. He has written numerous articles and conference papers and acts as an historical consultant to many different groups and societies.
Beverly Rasporich has written many articles on Canadian arts and culture, Native art and literature, Canadian humour, ethnicity, and multiculturalism. She is author of Dance of the Sexes: Art and Gender in the Fiction of Alice Munro, the CD-ROM Western Place/Womens Space, and Magic Off Main: The Art of Esther Warkov with the University of Calgary Press. Currently, she teaches in the Department of Canadian Studies in the Faculty of Communication and Culture at the University of Calgary.