Between Cultures: Native American Traditions and the European Medium

Description

The first thematic series published for American literature| THE WADSWORTH THEMES IN AMERICAN LITERATURE SERIES is currently comprised of 21 themes spanning the time period normally covered in the two-semester American literature survey course–1492 to the present. Each carefully edited booklet centers on a core issue of the period with attention given to the development of key themes. Each thematic booklet offers an introductory contextual essay| a variety of literary perspectives| headnotes and footnotes| along with a variety of visual elements. The first sequence of booklets| edited by Ralph Bauer| spans the colonial period from the arrival of Columbus in the New World through 1820| a time of immense fluidity and dynamic cultural exchange. Bauer is a pioneering scholar who takes a hemispheric approach to the era| looking at the crush of cultures–Spanish| English| Dutch| German| and French. Each of these European powers sent colonial missions across the Atlantic Ocean| and the collision of these cultures with each other and with the Native American population (itself diverse and complicated) was combustive.