Breaking the shackles of the metropolitan thesis: Prairie history, the environment and layered identities

Irwin, Robert

Breaking the shackles of the metropolitan thesis: Prairie history, the environment and layered identities

Author

Irwin, Robert

Date

1997

Keywords

Canadian prairie history, Western American history, prairies, environmental relationships, prairie identity, prairie history, autonomous layer of consciousness

Abstract (summary)

This review of writings in Canadian prairie history and western American history suggests that a new synthesis of prairie history that searches for identity within a new framework is needed. Prairie historians must begin their work with an understanding of the relationships between people and the environment on the prairies. These environmental relationships provide the continuity upon which a new understanding of prairie identity can be constructed. This identity must be understood as an autonomous layer of consciousness rather than a "limited identity" within a national consciousness.

Publication Information

Irwin, Robert. "Breaking the Shackles of the Metropolitan Thesis: Prairie History, the Environment and Layered Identities" Journal of Canadian Studies 33, no. 3 (1997): 98-118.