The role of the frontier in American history has been explored in great depth, and from many different perspectives. I cannot here undertake a comprehensive genealogy of the field, so I have selected certain key figures and scholars who I take to be, in their own ways, vital acquaintances for one attempting to understand the history of the frontier in the American imagination. To that end, the 'original' frontier scholar, if such a thing can be said to exist, would undoubtedly be Frederick Jackson Turner; it is with him that I shall begin my review.
Sunday, May 29, 2011
Saturday, May 21, 2011
Introductions and Commencements
Since I’ve never done this before, I’m going to set myself what I think is a reasonable starting pace: once a week, I’ll post an essay, or something less formally structured, on a topic that has caught my attention. Hopefully, these will spark some discussion among readers (which, obviously, presumes that there will be readers… so I’m clearly hoping for the best), as well as being informative – or at least well-informed.
In order to give some coherent narrative form to this whole affair, the first series of writings will be related to my senior thesis at Simon’s Rock, which was a study of the contemporary military and American foreign policy through the lens of the frontier imagination in the United States. A few posts from now, the reader should be much better acquainted with what I mean by this, and I’m hoping that it will provide a good foundation from which to proceed.1
An opening to be entitled
A blog relating to foreign policy and international relations; engendering a discussion of foreign policy informed by reality and political belief – by what the world is and what the world should be – in concert; establishing for the author a forum of expression for his geekiness as it relates to the culture of war in the United States and its artifacts; providing for the amendment and revision of the format and content of said blog, upon the inevitable realization that the original is in need of update.
Be It Enacted by the Author:
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