The frontier鈥檚 myths and promises have both inspired and impeded U.S. American enterprises. On one hand, the frontier stands for freedom, fresh starts, and rugged individualism. At the same time, the frontier is a site and source of genocide, dispossession, and lynch mob mentality. This class will explore the ways that this beguiling and brutal contradiction has indelibly shaped U.S. literature and popular culture. We will consider the U.S. mainland鈥檚 ever-receding frontiers through novels by James Fenimore Cooper and Laura Ingalls Wilder; the wild west of John Rollin Ridge鈥檚 poems and Bret Harte鈥檚 short fiction; the transnational frontiers of Bob Marley鈥檚 鈥淏uffalo Soldier鈥� and the spaghetti western; the U.S.-Mexico border of Jovita Gonzalez and Eve Raleigh鈥檚 historical romance; the 鈥渟pace western鈥� of Ray Bradbury鈥檚 Martian Chronicles and James Cameron鈥檚 Aliens; and Thomas King鈥檚 postmodern satire of Native and western entanglements.
Contact the instructor with any questions:听Cheryl.Higashida@colorado.edu