Drilling down in the Wilderness on USSO

My visit to the USSO site - an exercise in reflexive learning

This was my first visit to the U.S. Studies Online and I could immediately appreciate the sheer breadth of its offering just from the home page. However, I remembered the good tips learnt from ‘Reading Academic Texts’ workshop, and therefore planned to skim and scan the structure before plunging into the task. The site has academic credibility and authority and is affiliated to a credible organisation, the British Association for American Studies (BAAS). The mission statement was a model of clarity and enabled me to understand the purpose and direction of the site. I noted the wide range of research topics covered in this ‘unique hub that is of interest to us all.’[1] I also appreciated that the research is very up to date. Due to the richness of the site, I soon realised that I would have difficulty in deciding the topic for my blog task. This was a useful challenge as it meant that I spent more time in researching how the editors categorise the many layers of information.

To provide a focus for the exploration of the site I decided to use the topics which I had already worked on for the recent key word assignment in semester 2. This would make my site research meaningful and focused and would relate to previous learning. It would also provide me with more knowledge and understanding of those topics where I had undertaken individual research. I also felt that by being exposed to much good writing in a creditable academic site would help my development of critical analysis.

My three key word topics were Wilderness, Native Americans and First Wave Feminism. Although I was very tempted to revisit all three terms for further investigation, I have spared my readers the task of ploughing through such mountains of what I accept is second hand research! Therefore, I hope you enjoy these few nuggets pulled from the USSO treasure chest.

Twilight in the Wilderness (1860) by Frederic Edwin Church

http://www.baas.ac.uk/usso/night-another-frontier-in-american-wilderness-studies/

I chose to begin with the search term Wilderness. This uncovered a treasure trove of ideas and approaches.  I followed links to research articles on:

·      nightime as a new frontier,

·      a new perspective on the post-World War 1 Mid-West

·      the notion of ‘air space’ as another frontier

·      cultural similarities between civil rights movements

·      a review of a television series about the successes of a Russian spy ring living as American citizens

·      a review of ‘The Myth of Emptiness’ which situates the book at the heart of current debates about ideological constructions of wilderness, covering cultural, geographical and theoretical backgrounds

And finally, a most useful introduction to the world of podcasts where I located ‘Back Story’ – presented by three historians aiming to 'bring historical perspective to the events happening around us today.'

 http://backstoryradio.org/shows/worlds-apart/

 I found these approaches to Wilderness particularly interesting because of the links made with new topic areas within American Studies. They point up as to how much frontier and wilderness are featured within American cultural studies and how often are linked to the American psyche.

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[1] Dr. Sue Currell is a Reader in American Studies at the University of Sussex