Re-living the American Frontier: Western Fandoms, Reenactment, and Historical Hobbyists in Germany and America Since 1900
- ISBN-10
- 1609387910
- ISBN-13
- 9781609387914
- Category
- History
- Pages
- 281
- Language
- English
- Published
- 2021-12-01
- Publisher
- University of Iowa Press
- Author
- Nancy Reagin
Description
The historic and mythic elements of the American Old West—covered wagon trains, herds of buffalo, teepee villages, Indigenous warriors on horseback, cowboys on open ranges, and white settlers “taming” a wilderness with their plows and log cabins—have exerted a global fascination for more than 200 years and became the foundation for fan communities who have endured for generations. This book examines some of those communities, particularly German fans inspired by the authors of Westerns such as Karl May, and American enthusiasts of Laura Ingalls Wilder’s Little House on the Prairie series. But the Old West (like all visions of the past) proved to be shifting cultural terrain. In both Germany and the U. S., Western narratives of white settlement were once seen as “apolitical” and were widely accepted by white people. But during the Nazi period in Germany and in East Germany after 1945, the American West was reevaluated and politically repurposed. Then, during the late twentieth century, understandings of the West changed in the U. S. as well, while the violence of white settler colonialism and the displacement of Indigenous peoples became a flashpoint in the culture wars between right and left. Reagin shows that the past that fans seek to recreate is shaped by the changing present, as each new generation adapts and relives their own West.
Get the book
Other editions
-
- 2021
- 272 pages
- Paperback
- University of Iowa Press
Similar books
-
Americans Weren't the First to Live on the Frontier: Exposing Myths About the American Frontier
By Jill KeppelerYoung readers will get a wider perspective of the tales of the American frontier, including points of view often left out of history books and popular entertainment, and learn more about the real landscape of the West.
-
Re-Dressing America’s Frontier Past
By Peter BoagPeter E. Palmquist (Nevada City, CA: Carl Mautz Publishing, 1995), 21, 6. 6. Boise, Idaho Statesman, 24 February 1868, 2. 7. J. D. Borthwick left what has become a classic description of an all-male miners' dance, though this one in ...
-
Miles from Nowhere: Tales from America's Contemporary Frontier
By Dayton Duncan"In this splendid book a gifted observer and a terrific idea have come together in a real love match.
-
Frontier Living
Here is the keel-boatman, the cotton farmer, the fur trader, the mountain man, the forty-niner, the cowhand - each helping to shape a new and distinctive way from untamed country.
-
American Frontier (eBook)
By Tim McNeese... the most significant mechanics applied to farming were embodied in a threshing machine invented by Cyrus McCormick.Patented in 1834, McCormick's mechanical reaping device cut the time required to bring in a fall harvest of grain.
-
American Frontier
By Tim McNeeseOriginally, the Mexican government expected its offer of free land in Tejas would attract people from around the world, including Mexicans, Europeans, and Americans. But few others, except for Americans, answered the call.
-
Rendezvous: Reliving the Fur Trade Era, 1825 to 1840
By Rob Reilly, Kurt RhodyKurt Rhody's essays and stunning photographs transport the viewer back to the American Frontier of the early 19th century. Celebrate the American past as seen through the eyes of those who participate in annual reenactments.
-
Red Feather: A Tale of the American Frontier (Classic Reprint)
By Edward Sylvester EllisAbout the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work.
-
The Story of Red Feather
By Edward Sylvester EllisThe Story of Red Feather by Edward Sylvester Ellis Oettlcd country.
-
"I Do!": Courtship, Love, and Marriage on the American Frontier : a Glimpse at America's Romantic Past Through Photographs, Diaries,...
By Cathy LuchettiThe Westward Expansion Was A Time Of radical change in America. The upheaval of moving west and beginning a new life from scratch was difficult for those who made the...