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Summary Of A Place Of Extremes By Susan Rhoades Neel

1070 Words5 Pages

Susan Rhoades Neel - A Place of Extremes: Nature, History, and the American West In her essay, Susan Rhoades Neel examines the significance of the environment of the American West when shaping western history by referring to and analyzing regional approaches claimed by Webb, Limerick, Worster, and White in order to deemphasize Frederick Jackson Turner's frontier thesis. In fact, most historians may regard Turner's theory as the most influential and adequate one in attempting at giving meaning to the mythical territory of western America as it offers a common sense for the entire American nation. Nonetheless, because of the particular emphasis on nature and the human - nature relation, new approaches have been developed in order to outline …show more content…

Regionalist Richard White argues that "[i]t is this sense of historically derived relationships … that is central to the regionalism of the New Western History" (qtd. in Neel 114), defining the West as the result of conquest and the interchanges within the variety of groups and cultures in this specific territory, logically indicating intense struggles and conflicts over possession of land and natural resources. Limerick defines those relationships as a conquest, meaning "the drawing of lines on a map, the definition and allocation of ownership … and the evolution of land from matter to property" (qtd. in Neel 114). Worster concludes by shaping the western identity as a result out of adaption of modes of production. These arguments favoring the definition of the West as a region rise yet again doubts about the promised clarity since contradictors might question the uniqueness of these factors in the American west. Indeed, Dan Flores argues that Neel should have had considered the South as an example in her examination, since this region is also characterized by the lack of environmental

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