American Literature and American Identity addresses the crucial issue of identity formation, especially national identity, in influential works of American literature. Patrick Colm Hogan uses techniques of cognitive and affective science to examine the complex and often highly ambivalent treatment of American identity in works by Melville, Cooper, Sedgwick, Apess, Stowe, Jacobs, Douglass, Hawthorne, Poe, and Judith Sargeant Murray. Hogan focuses on the issue of how authors imagined American identity—specifically, as universal, democratic egalitarianism—in the face of the nation’s clear and often brutal inequalities of race and sex. In the course of this study, Hogan advances our understanding of nationalism in general, American identity in particular, and the widely read literary works he examines.

In recent years, cognitive and affective science have become increasingly important for interpretation and explanation in the social sciences and humanities. However, little of this work has addressed American literature, and virtually none has treated national identity formation in influential works since the Civil War. In this book, Hogan develops his earlier cognitive and affective analyses of national identity, further exploring the ways in which such identity is integrated with cross-culturally recurring patterns in story structure. Hogan examines how authors imagined American identity—understood as universal, democratic egalitarianism—in the face of the nation’s clear and often brutal inequalities of race, sex, and sexuality, exploring the complex and often ambivalent treatment of American identity in works by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, Eugene O’Neill, Lillian Hellman, Djuna Barnes, Amiri Baraka, Margaret Atwood, N. Scott Momaday, Spike Lee, Leslie Marmon Silko, Tony Kushner, and Heidi Schreck.

Embark on a journey of identity and exploration across the vast expanse of America with "The American: Chronicles of Identity in a Vast Nation" by Henry James. Enter the complex world of American society as seen through the lens of one of literature's greatest observers, delving into the intricacies of identity, culture, and belonging. As James' chronicles unfold, traverse the diverse landscapes and social strata of America, encountering a rich tapestry of characters grappling with questions of self-discovery and belonging. Experience the nuanced portrayal of identity in a nation forged by immigrants, pioneers, and dreamers. But amidst the diversity and complexity of American life, a fundamental question emerges: Can we truly understand the essence of America and its people, or are we forever bound by the limitations of our own perspectives? Engage with James' incisive commentary and profound insights, as he navigates the depths of American identity with empathy, insight, and unparalleled literary skill. Join the journey of introspection and exploration as we unravel the mysteries of American identity. Are you prepared to confront the complexities of the American experience and uncover the truths that lie beneath the surface? Immerse yourself in the rich narrative tapestry woven by Henry James, whose keen observations and timeless prose continue to resonate with readers around the world. Now is the time to delve into the heart of America and explore the intricacies of its identity. Let "The American" be your guide on a journey of self-discovery and cultural exploration, where every page offers new insights into the soul of a nation. Secure your copy of "The American" today and embark on an odyssey through the landscapes of identity, belonging, and the human experience. Let Henry James' masterful storytelling captivate your imagination and deepen your understanding of America's rich and diverse tapestry.

The contributions in this collection underline the vibrancy as well as complexity that characterizes the study of American literature and culture in the twenty-first century with regard to the exploration and understanding of ethnicity and gender. The book aims at contributing to the research already taking place within American Studies, while opening up the texts discussed to further literary and cultural evaluations and interpretations. America is viewed here not in isolation but as part of a fluctuating as well as geographically and culturally expansive reality as testified by the Asian, European, and American background of the volume contributors.

"Four Americans: Roosevelt, Hawthorne, Emerson, Whitman" by Henry A. Beers. Published by Good Press. Good Press publishes a wide range of titles that encompasses every genre. From well-known classics & literary fiction and non-fiction to forgotten−or yet undiscovered gems−of world literature, we issue the books that need to be read. Each Good Press edition has been meticulously edited and formatted to boost readability for all e-readers and devices. Our goal is to produce eBooks that are user-friendly and accessible to everyone in a high-quality digital format.

Throughout his career, Johnny Cash has been depicted—and has depicted himself—as a walking contradiction: social protestor and establishment patriot, drugged wildman and devout Christian crusader, rebel outlaw hillbilly thug and elder statesman. Leigh H. Edwards explores the allure of this paradoxical image and its cultural significance. She argues that Cash embodies irresolvable contradictions of American identity that reflect foundational issues in the American experience, such as the tensions between freedom and patriotism, individual rights and nationalism, the sacred and the profane. She illustrates how this model of ambivalence is a vital paradigm for American popular music, and for American identity in general. Making use of sources such as Cash's autobiographies, lyrics, music, liner notes, and interviews, Edwards pays equal attention to depictions of Cash by others, such as Vivian Cash's publication of his letters to her, documentaries and music journalism about him, Walk the Line, and fan club materials found in the archives at the Country Music Foundation in Nashville, to create a full portrait of Cash and his significance as a cultural icon.

"America and the Black Body is a timely exploration into the creative, literary, and visual uses of the black body in American print and visual culture. More specifically, this volume contemplates the social development of American identity and the multifarious ways this identity coalesces in the small gestures of preclusion that establish discemable markers of national belonging. Such investigations underscore issues of power and disenfranchisement, of race, class, and gender that mediate the representations of the black male and the black female body in real and imagined ways, as it also reveals the invisible social and political ties that connect white men and women's identities to these racial imaginings." --Book Jacket.

American Narratives takes readers back to the turn of the twentieth century to reintroduce four writers of varying ethnic backgrounds whose works were mostly ignored by critics of their day. With the skill of a literary detective, Molly Crumpton Winter recovers an early multicultural discourse on assimilation and national belonging that has been largely overlooked by literary scholars. At the heart of the book are close readings of works by four nearly forgotten artists from 1890 to 1915, the era often termed the age of realism: Mary Antin, a Jewish American immigrant from Russia; Zitkala- a, a Sioux woman originally from South Dakota; Sutton E. Griggs, an African American from the South; and Sui Sin Far, a biracial, Chinese American female writer who lived on the West Coast. Winter's treatment of Antin's The Promised Land serves as an occasion for a reexamination of the concept of assimilation in American literature, and the chapter on Zitkala- a is the most comprehensive analysis of her narratives to date. Winter argues persuasively that Griggs should have long been a more visible presence in American literary history, and the exploration of Sui Sin Far reveals her to be the embodiment of the varied and unpredictable ways that diversity of cultures came together in America. In American Narratives, Winter maintains that the writings of these four rediscovered authors, with their emphasis on issues of ethnicity, identity, and nationality, fit squarely in the American realist tradition. She also establishes a multiethnic dialogue among these writers, demonstrating ways in which cultural identity and national belonging are peristently contested in this literature.