Publication Date
12-5-2018
Abstract
The modern American moment has been marked by geographic estrangement: the alienation of human populations from their surrounding physical environments. This paper explores the modern phenomenon of geographic alienation by situating it within a specific historical frame, beginning with American Manifest Destiny in the mid-1800s and ending in the second half of the twentieth century, drawing connections between sociopolitical movements and their aftereffects. Identifying examples of alienation between humans and their environments through analysis of texts Black Elk Speaks and Blue Highways, as well as other cultural artifacts, this work gestures toward ways of reconciling past wrongs and offers solutions to the human-environmental disconnect that continues to shape American culture.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 3.0 License
Recommended Citation
Nissley, Anna. "Alienation, and its Antidote: Geographical Estrangement in the Modern Moment." 5. Dec. 2018.
