Description
Book SynopsisThrough the study of hundreds of criminal cases,
Westward Bound explores how encounters between the courts and ordinary people on the Canadian Prairies contributed to the construction of race, class, and gender hierarchies in a settler society.
Trade ReviewFascinating ... Erickson’s substantive incorporation of elements beyond the text, including courthouse architecture, prairie visual culture, and police photography, also enliven her discussion of legal and sociocultural developments ... scholars of western Canadian legal, sex-trade, and cultural history will find this book a valuable and engaging addition to both teaching and research. -- Laurie K. Bertram, University of Alberta * Journal of Colonialism and Colonial History, Vol. 13 No. 3, Winter 2012 *
This exploration of hegemony and resistance debunks the myth of Canada's peaceful settlement of the West. * Prairie Books Now, No. 59, Summer 2012 *
Table of ContentsForeword
Introduction
1 Fruitful Land, Happy Homes, Manly Titans: Settlement Frontiers, Law, and the Intimate in Colonialism and Nation Building
2 They Know No Better: Maintaining Race and Managing Domestic Space at the Fringes of Civilization
3 The Most Public of Private Women: Prostitutes, Reformers, and Police Courts
4 The Farmer, the Pioneer Woman, and the Hired Hand: Sexual Violence, Seduction, and the Boundaries of Class
5 For Family, Nation, and Empire: Policing Drugs, Abortion, and Heterosexuality in the Interwar City
6 The Might of a Good Strong Hand: Domestic Violence, Wife Murder, and Incest
7 She Is to Be Pitied, Not Punished: The Murderess, the Woman Question, and the Capital Punishment Debate
Conclusion
Notes
Bibliography
Index
