The Great Plains Region: The Greenwood Encyclopedia of American Regional Cultures

(Hardback)

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Description

The Great Plains region has cast an indelible image on the panorama of American culture. The vast expanses of land encompassed in Kansas, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota and surrounding areas have been home to an often overlooked cultural diversity. The Sun Dance of the Kiowan tribe, the folk ballads of Woody Guthrie, the fiction of Willa Cather and Louise Erdrich, the Great Plains school of architecture, bierocks (a.k.a. savory pie sandwiches), Buffalo soldier fashion, Territory Jazz and Native American hip-hop-all these elements and countless other have contributed to the patchwork of Great Plains regional cultures. Detailed narrative chapters on thirteen categories, each with illustrations and sidebars, of Great Plains culture provide an unprecedented look at the many ways in which America's Heartland have served as an oft-unheralded cross-section of America's melting pot, and each concludes with recommended further resources on the topic. This volume also includes an introductory essay on Great Plains regional identity as well as a timeline, bibliography, and index. The Greenwood Encyclopedia of American Regional Cultures is the first rigorous reference collection on the many ways in which American identity has been defined by its regions and its people. Each of its eight regional volumes presents thoroughly researched narrative chapters on Architecture; Art; Ecology & Environment; Ethnicity; Fashion; Film & Theater; Folklore; Food; Language; Literature; Music; Religion; and Sports & Recreation. Each chapters includes a Resource Guide with a carefully selected list of print publications, Web sites, organizations, as well as festivals, recordings, videos, special collections, and other sources for information when appropriate. All books in this set have a volume-specific introduction, as well as a series foreword by noted regional scholar and former National Endowment for the Humanities chairman William Ferris, who served as Consulting Editor for this encyclopedia.

Reviews

"This set provides a comprehensive view of America's regional history and culture.... This encyclopedia set provides a resource that is compatible with regional studies curricula. Highly recommended. All levels." - Choice, June 2005 "Exploring both history and culture, this resource offers a comprehensive view of our nation's diverse regions.... The narratives focus on distinctive U.S. regions, with subjects ranging from architecture, art, and ecology to fashion, folklore, food, language, literature, music, religion, and sports.... With interest in regionalism on the rise owing to increased literary and American studies programs, students conducting research on regional identities and cultural distinctiveness will be well served by the depth of coverage this set provides. Classroom teachers and library media specialists could also utilize it in their own research. Recommended for academic and larger public libraries." - Library Journal, March 15, 2005 "This reference set will be a great source for students in grade seven and up, especially for schools and public libraries where states and cultural heritage assignments are frequent and curriculum support is needed." - VOYA, June 2005"

Author Bio

AMANDA REES is a visiting assistant professor in the Department of Geography at the University of Wyoming. She contributed to Imagining the Big Open: Nature, Identity, and Play in the New West and to Suburban Sprawl: Culture, Ecology, and Politics.