Whiteness and American Literature

This volume provides an illuminating exploration of how ideas about whiteness have shaped the literature and culture of the United States. Covering nearly 250 years – from the 1790 Naturalization Act, which limited access to citizenship to immigrants who were 'free white person[s],' to the present – Whiteness and American Literature considers how a broad spectrum of novels, movies, short stories, television shows, poems, songs, and other works depict whiteness. The collection's twenty accessible and engaging chapters by renowned scholars analyze representations of whiteness in a variety of historical periods, literary genres, and aesthetic forms. Chapters also survey scholarly work at the crossroads of whiteness studies and disability studies, food studies, and other academic disciplines. Designed for scholars, students, and general readers, this book is essential reading for anyone interested in gaining a deeper understanding of the role whiteness plays in the US imagination.