Environmental practice and early American literature / Michael Ziser, University of California, Davis.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Ziser, Michael, 1973- author.

Series:

Cambridge studies in American literature and culture ; 166.

Cambridge studies in American literature and culture ; 166

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

American literature--History and criticism.

American literature.

Nature in literature.

Ecology in literature.

Agriculture in literature.

Agent (Philosophy) in literature.

Natural history--United States--Historiography.

Natural history.

Nature (Aesthetics).

Ecocriticism--United States.

Ecocriticism.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (x, 224 pages) : digital, PDF file(s).

Edition:

1st ed.

Other Title:

Environmental Practice & Early American Literature

Place of Publication:

Cambridge : Cambridge University Press, 2013.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

This original and provocative study tells the story of American literary history from the perspective of its environmental context. Weaving together close readings of early American texts with ecological histories of tobacco, potatoes, apples and honey bees, Michael Ziser presents a method for literary criticism that explodes the conceptual distinction between the civilized and natural world. Beginning with the English exploration of Virginia in the sixteenth century, Ziser argues that the settlement of the 'New World' - and the cultivation and exploitation of its bounty - dramatically altered how writers used language to describe the phenomena they encountered on the frontier. Examining the work of Harriot, Grainger, Cooper, Thoreau and others, Ziser reveals how these authors, whether consciously or not, transcribed the vibrant ecology of North America, and the ways that the environment helped codify a uniquely American literary aesthetic of lasting importance.

Contents:

Sovereign remedies

Staple-colony circumspection

The pomology of Eden

Beeing in the world

Walled in and farmed out : pastoral isolation and Georgic collectivities.

Notes:

Title from publisher's bibliographic system (viewed on 05 Oct 2015).

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

1-139-89035-2

1-107-24110-3

1-107-25073-0

1-107-24741-1

0-511-79416-9

1-107-24990-2

1-107-24824-8

1-107-24907-4

OCLC:

863202515