Reforming Fictions - Native, African, Jewish American Women s Literature Journalism in

Recovering a lost chapter of literary and political history, this fresh, multicultural reading of the work of women writers of the Progressive era situates their fiction in the context of their reform journalism and political activism.
As Native, African, and Jewish American women gained access to education, developed women's clubs, and joined political organizations, they wrote to reform the nation, engaging themselves politically and creating a cross-cultural dialogue between journalism and fiction. Early in this century, writers such as Zitkala-Sa, Mourning Dove, Alice Dunbar-Nelson, and Anzia Yezierska developed their writing careers through affiliations with reform organizations. They worked for Pan-Indianism, racial uplift, immigrant aid, or social welfare. Carol Batker explores the impact of their journalism and political work on their fiction. She demonstrates points of contact among these women that suggest mutual influence and conversations across racial and ethnic lines -- revealing important historical antecedents to contemporary debates about multiculturalism in America.

List of contents

Introduction
1. "Her Rightful Place in the New Scheme of Things": Native American Women's Journalism in the Dawes Era
2. " Wantin' to Wear th' Breeches and Boss th' HullShebang'": Reservations and Romance in Mourning Dove's
3. "The Democracy for Which We Have Paid": Jessie Fauset and World War I Controversies in the African-American Press
4. "An 'Honest-to-God' American": Patriotism, Foreignness, and Domesticity in Jessie Fauset's Fiction
5. "Why Should You Ask for Ease?": Jewish Women's Journalism in the English-Language Press
6. "Mingling with Her People in Their Ghetto": Immigrant Aid and the New Woman in Jewish Women's Fiction
Conclusion

About the author

Carol J. Batker

Summary

A fresh, multicultural reading of the work of women writers of the Progressive era that places their fiction in the context of their reform journalism and political activism.

Product details

• Authors: Carol Batker, Carol J. Batker
• Publisher: Columbia University Press
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback / Softback
• Released: 29.11.2000
• EAN: 9780231118514
• ISBN: 978-0-231-11851-4
• No. of pages: 256
• Subjects: Humanities, art, music > Linguistics and literary studies > English linguistics / literary studies; USA, Ethnic Studies, SOCIAL SCIENCE / Women's Studies, LITERARY CRITICISM / American / General, LITERARY CRITICISM / Women Authors, LITERARY CRITICISM / Modern / 20th Century, American English, United States of America, USA, Literary studies: from c 1900 -, Gender studies: women, Literary studies: fiction, novelists & prose writers, Literary studies: fiction, novelists and prose writers, Gender studies: women and girls, Literary studies: c 1900 to c 2000, LITERARY CRITICISM / Novel as Form, SOCIAL SCIENCE / Cultural & Ethnic Studies / General