Description
Book SynopsisIn exploring the origins and character of the American liberal tradition, Jehlen begins with the proposition that the decisive factor that shaped the European settlers' idea of America or the American was material rather than conceptualit was the physical fact of the land.
Trade ReviewStudents of history and North America alike will find this work of enormous value in understanding many aspects of what constitutes ‘America’ and ‘the American,’ aspects which are often difficult to explain in the light of the European understanding of history… [A] stimulating and perceptive analysis of America… Those seeking deeper insights into the American nation will find this book of inestimable value. * Anglo-American Studies *
For those approaching American literature from under the European shadow,
American Incarnation is the culminating work… Jehlen’s brief is…that the successful emancipation of America from Europe cut American literature off not just from Europe but from history itself…
American Incarnation is the brilliant elaboration of her position… [Jehlen has crafted] many breathtaking pieces of analysis. -- Michael Rogin * Criticism *
Often brilliant, ever provocative… There are nuggets here not to be mined anywhere else. -- Annette Kolodny * Early American Literature *
This demanding, closely reasoned work will become required reading for everyone in the American Studies field. * Choice *
Brilliant and compelling…
American Incarnation, widely ranging and throwing off ideas like sparks, ends with a look at our more dismantled cultural situation today. -- R. W. B. Lewis
This is indeed an ambitious book, one likely to have a strong impact on American studies, both literary and historical. It is a complex and subtle reexamination of some of the central problems of the American liberal tradition. Jehlen has done a superb job of altering the terms of discussion and redefining the history of ideas in the American Renaissance in a subtle and compelling way. -- Eric Sundquist
Table of ContentsIntroduction: One Man, One World 1. Starting with Columbus 2. The Mammoth Land 3. Necessary and Sufficient Acts 4. Plain and Fancy Fictions 5. Transgression and Transformation 6. The Rebirth of Tragedy Epilogue: After the Culmination Notes Works Cited Index
