Ranch literature: Writing the code of the New West
Abstract
Ranch Literature should hereafter be designated as a sub-genre consisting of literatures dealing with ranching in the American West. It primarily comes from two sources: literature that has ranchland as its primary setting or which takes ranch life as a primary theme; and books that generally fall under the category of “nature writing” that are also concerned with ranching or ranch life. From this genre emerge certain themes: connection to particular place; connection to the community that exists near such places; and connection to the culture that exists within that place and community. Taken together, these books present a vivid portrait of Old West meeting New West at a time of vast change, particularly in regard to land-use issues. This dissertation seeks to explore the ways in which contemporary authors have illustrated how agriculture and the environment merge, blend, depart, and tangle.
Degree
Ph.D.
Advisors
Flory, Purdue University.
Subject Area
American literature
Off-Campus Purdue Users:
To access this dissertation, please log in to our
proxy server.