Description
Book SynopsisThis book is the first comprehensive study of antebellum depictions of the non-European world. Harvey proposes that U.S. cultural history cannot be fully understood without considering how Americans regarded tropical America, the Holy Land, Polynesia, and Africa.
Trade Review"This book is deeply researched, beautifully written, and truly important and original. Harvey has mastered the field of antebellum literary and cultural studies, and he displays considerable expertise in African American, Near Eastern, and comparative studies, particularly in the cutting edge of the literatures of the Americas." -Robert S. Levine,University of Maryland
Table of ContentsIntroduction: beyond manifest destiny: American studies, national identity, and other worlds 1. The world as pedagogical spectacle: antebellum geography textbooks 2. 'Precepts graven on every breast': Melville's Typee, Polynesia, and the forms of the law 3. Desire, transgression, and the Holy Land 4. The archaeological sublime of tropical America: Ephraim G. Squier and John L. Stephens 5. Outgrowing the boundaries of North America: Martin R. Delany, Africa, and the question of African-American agency Conclusion: the world archive and the national canon of memory Notes Index.
