The North American West in the Twenty-First Century

Frederick Jackson Turner argued that the generational process of meeting and conquering the western frontier forged American identity. In the late twentieth century, "new western" historians dissected the mythologized western histories. The North American West in the Twenty-First Century, edited by Brenden W. Rensink, takes stories of the late twentieth-century "modern West" and traces continuity with or divergence from trajectories established in the 1980s and 1990s, inspiring more scholars to pull histories to the present and reinsert scholarly findings into contemporary public awareness.

Format: Hardback
Length: 420 pages
Publication date: 08 November 2022
Publisher: University of Nebraska Press

In 1893, Frederick Jackson Turner made a renowned assertion, stating that the process of encountering and conquering the perceived uncivilized western frontier played a pivotal role in shaping American identity. As the late twentieth century unfolded, a group of historians known as "new western" scholars embarked on a mission to dissect the mythologized western histories that had long been used to represent American triumph and progress. While Turner's frontier may no longer exist in its original form, the West continues to present America with complex challenges that require wrestling, navigation, and overcoming.

The North American West in the Twenty-First Century, edited by Brenden W. Rensink, is a collection of essays that explore the narratives of the late twentieth-century "modern West" and carefully bring them into the present. The book explicitly traces continuity with or unexpected divergence from trajectories established in the 1980s and 1990s, covering a wide range of topics such as environment, Indigenous peoples, geography, migration, and politics. These essays span multiple modern frontiers, including the temporal frontier between our unsettled past and uncertain future. By delving into the twenty-first-century West, these essays aim to inspire scholars to bring historical narratives to the present, thereby reinserting scholarly findings into contemporary public awareness.

Dimension: 229 x 152 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781496230430