Susan Kollin

Captivating Westerns: The Middle East in the American West - Postwestern Horizons Susan Kollin

Marc Notes: Includes bibliographical references and index.; Tracing the transnational influences of what has been known as a uniquely American genre, the Western, Susan Kollin's Captivating Westerns analyzes key moments in the history of multicultural encounters between the Middle East and the American West. In particular, the book examines how experiences of contact and conflict have played a role in defining the western United States as a crucial American landscape. Kollin interprets the popular Western as a powerful national narrative and presents the cowboy hero as a captivating figure who upholds traditional American notions of freedom and promise, not just in the region but across the globe. Captivating Westerns revisits popular uses of the Western plot and cowboy hero in understanding American global power in the post-9/11 period. Although various attempts to build a case for the war on terror have referenced this quintessential American region, genre, and hero, they have largely overlooked the ways in which these celebrated spaces, icons, and forms, rather than being uniquely American, are instead the result of numerous encounters with and influences from the Middle East. By tracing this history of contact, encounter, and borrowing, this study expands the scope of transnational studies of the cowboy and the Western and in so doing discloses the powerful and productive influence of the Middle East on the American West--; Provided by publisher.; Captivating Westerns examines the contact and conflict between the United States and the Middle East in the introduction, production, and circulation of the film and literary Western, and the racial politics embedded in the various versions and revisions of the Western genre--; Provided by publisher. Review Quotes: An exuberant study of the transposings of the American West and the Middle East in diverse popular cultural expressions that re-circuits the Western away from its moorings in both the U. S. West and Western power to remap how its conventions have been transnationally informed and transformed by circulations through Arab itineraries and Iranian iterations. Timothy Marr, author of "The Cultural Roots of American Islamicism"--Timothy Marr (03/04/2015)"Biographical Note: Susan Kollin is professor of English at Montana State University. She is the editor of "Postwestern Cultures: Literature, Theory, Space" (Nebraska, 2007) and author of "Nature s State: Imagining Alaska as the Last Frontier.""Review Quotes: Kollin presents a nuanced and brilliant discussion of intersections. . . . Most significant, the book is so engagingly and clearly written that anyone interested in analyses of the U. S. relationship to the Middle East would find it fascinating. . . . Stunningly original. Melody Graulich, coeditor of "Dirty Words in Deadwood"--Melody Graulich (03/04/2015)"Review Quotes: "Groundbreaking in its analysis. . . . This highly original perspective is timely as well as relevant in our post-9/11 world with its so-called war on terror and its volatile ethno-racial and gendered politics."--Stephen Tatum, author of "In the Remington Moment"Review Quotes: "Kollin presents a nuanced and brilliant discussion of intersections. . . . Most significantly, the book is so engagingly and clearly written that anyone interested in analyses of the U. S. relationship to the Middle East would find it fascinating. . . . Stunningly original."--Melody Graulich, coeditor of "Dirty Words in Deadwood "Review Quotes: "An exuberant study of the transposings of the American West and the Middle East in diverse popular cultural expressions that re-circuits the 'Western' away from its moorings in both the U. S. West and Western power to remap how its conventions have been transnationally informed and transformed by circulations through Arab itineraries and Iranian iterations."--Timothy Marr, author of "The Cultural Roots of American Islamicism"Review Quotes: Groundbreaking in its analysis. . . . This highly original perspective is timely as well as relevant in our post-9/11 world with its so-called war on terror and its volatile ethno-racial and gendered politics. Stephen Tatum, author of "In the Remington Moment"--Stephen Tatum (03/04/2015)"Brief Description: "Tracing the transnational influences of what has been known as a uniquely American genre, "the Western," Susan Kollin's Captivating Westerns analyzes key moments in the history of multicultural encounters between the Middle East and the American West. In particular, the book examines how experiences of contact and conflict have played a role in defining the western United States as a crucial American landscape. Kollin interprets the popular Western as a powerful national narrative and presents the cowboy hero as a captivating figure who upholds traditional American notions of freedom and promise, not just in the region but across the globe. Captivating Westerns revisits popular uses of the Western plot and cowboy hero in understanding American global power in the post-9/11 period. Although various attempts to build a case for the war on terror have referenced this quintessential American region, genre, and hero, they have largely overlooked the ways in which these celebrated spaces, icons, and forms, rather than being uniquely American, are instead the result of numerous encounters with and influences from the Middle East. By tracing this history of contact, encounter, and borrowing, this study expands the scope of transnational studies of the cowboy and the Western and in so doing discloses the powerful and productive influence of the Middle East on the American West"--Publisher Marketing: Tracing the transnational influences of what has been known as a uniquely American genre, the Western, Susan Kollin s "Captivating Westerns" analyzes key moments in the history of multicultural encounters between the Middle East and the American West. In particular, the book examines how experiences of contact and conflict have played a role in defining the western United States as a crucial American landscape. Kollin interprets the popular Western as a powerful national narrative and presents the cowboy hero as a captivating figure who upholds traditional American notions of freedom and promise, not just in the region but across the globe. "Captivating Westerns" revisits popular uses of the Western plot and cowboy hero in understanding American global power in the post-9/11 period. Although various attempts to build a case for the war on terror have referenced this quintessential American region, genre, and hero, they have largely overlooked the ways in which these celebrated spaces, icons, and forms, rather than being uniquely American, are instead the result of numerous encounters with and influences from the Middle East. By tracing this history of contact, encounter, and borrowing, this study expands the scope of transnational studies of the cowboy and the Western and in so doing discloses the powerful and productive influence of the Middle East on the American West."

Contributor Bio:  Kollin, Susan Susan Kollin is associate professor of English at Montana State University in Bozeman.