Go east, young man : : imagining the American West as the Orient / / Richard V. Francaviglia.

• Author: Francaviglia, Richard V.
• Year of Publication: 2011
• Edition: 1st ed.
• Language: English
• Physical Description: 1 online resource (362 p.)
• Notes: Description based upon print version of record.

Transference of orientalist images and identities to the American landscape and its inhabitants, especially in the West-in other words, portrayal of the West as the "Orient"-has been a common aspect of American cultural history. Place names, such as the Jordan River or Pyramid Lake, offer notable examples, but the imagery and its varied meanings are more widespread and significant. Understanding that range and significance, especially to the western part of the continent, means coming to terms with the complicated, nuanced ideas of the Orient and of the North American continent that

Table of Contents

Contents; Preface; Introduction: The Malleable Landscape; I. The Frontier West as the Orient (ca. 1810-1920); 1. The American Zahara: Into and Beyond the Great Western Plains; 2. In Praise of Pyramids: Orientalizing the Western Interior; 3. Chosen People, Chosen Land: Utah as the Holy Land; 4. Finding New Eden: The American Southwest; 5. The Far East in the Far West: Chinese and Japanese California; 6. Syria on the Pacific: California as the Near/Middle East; 7. To Ancient East by Ocean United: The Pacific Northwest as Asia; II. The Modern West as the Orient (ca. 1920-2010)

8. Lands of Enchantment: The Modern West as the Near/Middle East9. Another Place, Another Time: The Modern West as the Far East; 10. Full Circle: Imagining the Orient as the American West; Notes; Bibliography; Index