Old west/new west

Book

Old west/new west / Gene M. Gressley, editor.

Gressley, Gene M., 1931- (Added Author).

Summary:

Since 1893, Frederick Jackson turner's frontier thesis -"the existence of an area of free land, its continuous recession, and the advance of American settlement westward"- has influenced scholars seeking to understand the nature of the West. The imperialistic, optimistic, and positive Turner has been challenged in recent years, however, by a group of young scholars dubbed the "New West" historians. In contrast to the Old West historiography, these New West historians perceive the settlement of the West as a negative experience (conquest is the key word). They contend the Old West historians are patently jingoistic and neglectful of minorities, ethnics, and the environment. In Old West/ New West, six distinguished historians - Carl Abbott, Patricia Nelson Limerick, Gerald Nash, Malcolm Rohrbough, Gerald Thompson, and Donald Worster- debate the approaches to each school of thought when studying the West. Editor Gene M. Gressley provides and introduction setting the context5 for the Old West/New West battleground.

Record details

ISBN: 080612962X
ISBN: 9780806129624
Physical Description: viii, 199 pages : illustrations ; 23 cm
Edition: Oklahoma pbks. ed.
Publisher: Norman : University of Oklahoma Press, 1997.

Content descriptions

General Note:: Originally published: Worland, Wyo. : High Plains Pub., �1994.
Bibliography, etc. Note:: Includes bibliographical references (pages 163-184) and index.
Formatted Contents Note:: The privileges and perils of the western public intellectual / Patricia Nelson Limerick -- The new western history: a critical analysis / Gerald Thompson -- The American West and the three urban revolutions / Carl Abbott -- Rediscovering the West: the legacy of John Wesley Powell / Donald Worster -- The continuing search for the American West: historians past, present, and future / Malcolm J. Rohrbough -- The global context of the new western historian / Gerald D. Nash.