The American Vagrant in Literature: Race, Work and Welfare

Tramps have long been a source of fascination and fear, and this book explores how they were depicted in literature, ethnography, and policy-making during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. It argues that the development of anti-vagrancy laws and public fascination with tramps facilitated a transatlantic dialogue between authors, sociologists, and government authorities who sought to modernize the state's ability to describe, catalogue, and manage this roving population.

Format: Hardback
Length: 192 pages
Publication date: 30 April 2023
Publisher: Edinburgh University Press

The widespread panic caused by tramps sparked a profound interdisciplinary and international dialogue on race, work, and welfare. A comparative study of US and European sources in the areas of literature, ethnography, and policy-making has emerged, offering a fresh framework for interpreting canonical authors and texts, such as John Steinbeck, Jack London, George Orwell, and many others. This book argues that the rapid development of anti-vagrancy laws in the late nineteenth century, coinciding with widespread public fascination with tramps, facilitated a transatlantic dialogue between sources eager to modernize the state's ability to describe, catalogue, and manage this roving population. Traditionally depicted as white, solitary, and artistic, the tramp character was once perceived as a menacing threat to society. However, by the postwar period, they had largely disappeared from public view. This book sheds light on the often-surprising lines of influence between authors, sociologists, and government authorities who all capitalized on the social panic surrounding tramping to reimagine the relationship between work and national citizenship.

Dimension: 234 x 156 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781399506717