Research in Western American Literature: 1992–93

JA N R O U S H Utah State University Research in Western American Literature: 1992-93 The trend toward an increased awareness of the land we inhabit in the West as well as a recognition of the culturally diverse groups who inhabit that land continues in this year’s research in western American literature. Of the fourteen theses, fifty-four dissertations, and one postdoctoral thesis, the most significant topical thread is ecological concern, with eight separate theses or dissertations focusing solely on aspects of nature or nature writing. Representing that concern are works on fresh voices such as Annie Dillard, Barbara Kingsolver, Ursula Le Guin, and Terry Tempest Williams, who speak out to defend the landscape. Concern for the landscape also comes through in theses and dissertations that focus on populations that have frequently been ne­ glected in discussions of the West’s settlement and literature. Discussion of minorities such as Native Americans, women, Chinese-Americans, and Blacks are all increasing, many in conjunction with another minor­ ity group, as in Qualifying Margins: The Discourse ofDeath in Native and African American 'Women’s Fiction or Principalities and Powers: Religion and Resistance in Contemporary Ethnic Women’s Literature. Women are the ma­ jor topic of discussion in fifteen separate titles; Native Americans are the focus of thirteen. When the emphasis is on a single individual, Mark Twain and Willa Cather are the major recipients of such attention, with nine and five treatments respectively. Receiving lesser emphasis but enough to war­ rant mention are Annie Dillard, Jack London, Jack Kerouac, and John Steinbeck. I would like to draw attention to a new category that appears at the 338 Western American Literature end of title listings: completed postdoctoral theses. It is rare that we will have these listings as they are not common to the American university system. However, since the completion of the postdoctoral thesis is a major requirement for advancement to full professor in the German university system, a position difficult to attain, and since Ludwig Deringer has been an active member of the Western Literature Associa­ tion for a number ofyears, Iwanted to highlight his accomplishments in making western American literature an international entity. COMPLETED MASTERS THESES: American Literature Allen-Langdon, Barbara Tracy From Photo-Texts to Fiction: Tracing the Path ofWright Morris. (M.A.) University ofNebraska-Omaha, 1992. Bullinger-Allen, Rita The Natural Woman asVisionary Hero in MaryAustin’sIndigenous Ameri­ can Dream. (M.A.) California State University, Fresno, 1992. Bullion, Lisa A Metaphorical Analysis ofAnnie Dillard’s Teaching a Stone to Talk: Expedi­ tions andEncounters. (MA.) University ofAlaskaAnchorage, 1991. He, Zhongxiu Everything “Come(s) to Money in the End”:A Reading of Willa Cather’s Middle Novels. (M.A.) Simon Fraser University (Canada), 1990. Field, Colleen Renee “At the Ridge ofWords”:Contemporary Native American Women’s Poetry. (M.S.) Lamar University, Beaumont, 1992. McDowell, ElizabethJeanne Power and Environmentalism in Recent Writings by Barbara Kingsolver, Ursula Le Guin, Alice Walker, and Terry Tempest Williams. (M.S.) University ofOregon, 1992. Research 339 Nelson, KennethJames Mythic Elements of On theRoad. (M.A.) University ofAlberta (Canada), 1992. Cinema Hehner, Barbara Hearts ofthe West: Some Aspects ofWomen’sRoles in American Westerns, 1939-1969. (M.F.A.) York University (Canada), 1991. ComparativeLiterature Stout, MaryAnn EarlyNativeAmerican Women Writers: PaulineJohnson, Zitkala-Sa, Mourn­ ing Dove. (M.A.) The University ofArizona, 1992. United StatesHistory Carter, William Towards a Revision ofthe HistoryofSouthern Plains-NewMexico Relations: Lipan Apaches and Southern Plains Ecology, 1500-1720. (M.A.I.S.) University ofTexas-Pan American, 1992 Gerland,Jonathan Kirk Henry Clay and United States Indian Policy: An Assessment. (M.A.) Stephen F. Austin State University, 1991. Reese, Theodore George Soft Gold: History of the Fur Trade and the Deculturation of the Native Americans ofthe Great Lakes during the Colonial Period. (MA.) Central Michigan University, 1992. Young, Andrew Herbert Life and Labor on the King Ranch: 1853-1900. (M.S.) Texas A&I University, 1992. COMPLETED Ph.D., Ed.D., AND D.A. DISSERTATIONS: American Literature Busch, Christopher Scott John Steinbeck and the Frontier West. (Ph.D.) University ofNotre Dame, 1993. 340 Western American Literature Castanier, Chris “Roadworks”:The Open Frontier in American Literature ofTravel. (Ph.D.) Wayne State University, 1992. Champ, Robert Leonard The...