The Islamic Lineage of American Literary Culture: Muslim Sources from the Revolution to Reconstruction
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Author Description
Uncovering Islam's little known yet formative impact on U.S. literary culture, this book traces genealogies of Islamic influence that span America's earliest generations, reaching from the Revolution to Reconstruction. Excavating personal appeals to Islam by pioneering national authors-Ezra Stiles, William Bentley, Washington Irving, Lydia Maria Child, Ralph Waldo Emerson-Einboden discovers Muslim discourse woven into the familiar fabric of unpublished letters and sermons, journals and journalism, memoirs and marginalia. The first to unearth multiple manuscripts exhibiting American investment in Middle Eastern languages and literatures, Einboden argues that Islamic precedents helped to prompt and propel creativity in the young Republic, acting as vehicles of artistic reflection, religious contemplation, and political liberation. Intersecting informal engagements and intimate exchanges, Islamic sources are situated in this timely study as catalysts for American authorship and identity, with U.S. writers mirroring the defining struggles of their country's first decades through domestic investment in the Qur'an, Hadith, and Persian Sufi poetry.
Menrva's Summary
THE THESIS
This book investigates the formative and often overlooked influence of Islamic sources on the development of American literary culture from the Revolutionary era through the Reconstruction period. Jeffrey Einboden, a scholar of comparative literature and religion, utilizes a diverse array of primary source materials—including personal correspondence, sermons, and marginalia—to argue that Islamic texts and traditions served as significant catalysts for early American intellectual and creative identity. By examining the works of figures such as Ralph Waldo Emerson and Washington Irving, the author demonstrates how engagement with the Qur'an, Hadith, and Persian poetry provided a framework for navigating the political and religious tensions of the young Republic.
THE SCOPE MAP
What You Will Find
- Analysis of unpublished letters, journals, and sermons from early American authors.
- Examination of the reception of the Qur'an and Persian Sufi poetry in 18th and 19th-century America.
- Case studies on specific literary figures including Ezra Stiles, William Bentley, and Lydia Maria Child.
Scope Limits
- The study focuses primarily on the period between the American Revolution and Reconstruction.
- It does not provide a comprehensive history of Islam in America, but rather focuses on literary and intellectual intersections.
THE AUTHORITY PERSPECTIVE
Scholars and critics recognize this work as a significant contribution to the field of American literary history, noting its success in uncovering previously ignored archival connections. Readers frequently highlight the academic rigor of the research and the author's ability to synthesize complex historical data into a coherent narrative regarding national identity.
Page Count:
216
Publication Date:
2016-01-01
Publisher:
Oxford University Press
ISBN-10:
0190612932
ISBN-13:
9780190612931
History
Religion
American Studies
English
Islamic Studies
Cultural History
Literary Criticism
English & College Success
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