American Identity, American Nostalgia: Using Images of Nature to Perform and Connect
Open Access
- Author:
- Wilson, Sarah Ruth
- Graduate Program:
- American Studies
- Degree:
- Doctor of Philosophy
- Document Type:
- Dissertation
- Date of Defense:
- October 17, 2018
- Committee Members:
- Charles David Kupfer, Dissertation Advisor/Co-Advisor
Charles David Kupfer, Committee Chair/Co-Chair
Simon Bronner, Committee Member
John Rogers Haddad, Committee Member
Hannah Marie Spector, Outside Member - Keywords:
- Human-nature relationship
identity
American literature
American art
wilderness
nineteenth century
twentieth century
twenty-first century
digital media
environmental humanities
nature idea
blogging
American nature writing
simulation
nostalgia
technological sublime
sublime
digital technologies - Abstract:
- The manner in which the Human-Nature relationship is enacted can reveal significant aspects about human identity and beliefs about the human place in the world. Through an analysis of American literary and visual images that engage the wilderness idea spanning nineteenth and twentieth centuries, this dissertation concludes that twenty-first century digital media transforms the American perception of the human-nature relationship. This research questions Nature-Culture Dualism, explains human identity formation through the framework of the Nature Idea, and illustrates how digital media reshapes American use of that idea. An analysis of digital media focuses on hiking blogs and locates them in the tradition of American nature writing. Simulation of nature through digital media creates a human response based on specific values associated with the nature idea and rooted in nostalgia. Ultimately, humans continue to adopt images of nature to construct personal and cultural identities, but also as a way to temper the technological sublime they experience while using emerging digital technologies.