The Treatment of American Indians in Selected American Literature: A Radical Critique

The dissertation examines American literature dealing with native Americans and develops a radical perspective based, in part, on Marxist literary criticism and moral criticism, applying this approach to works of Cooper, Longfellow, Thoreau, Custer, Garland, Jackson, Sandoz, Corle, Manfred, Borland, and Momaday. I examine the following questions: What political statements explicitly or implicitly does a particular work make? Does a specific work reinforce or support stereotyped notions of American Indians, and if so, does it support or reinforce racist policies, acts, or attitudes? Does a work educate its readers about native struggles or cultures? Does the work recommend specific political solutions to existing social or economic problems? Does the work defend treaty rights and tribal sovereignty?

Name thesis:degree_name

Ph.D.

Level thesis:degree_level

Dissertation

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

English

Grantor

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Year dc:date

2014

Author dc:creator

• Snider, John Michael

• Literature, American

Identifier

(UMI)AAI8410050

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:www.ideals.illinois.edu:2142/69433