| This dissertation examines how the new "multicultural phase" anthologies of American literature treat American history. Anthologies of American literature are more historical, more diverse, and more multidisciplinary than ever before, but they have over-extended themselves in both their historical and representational reach. They are not, despite their diversity and historicism, effective vehicles for promoting critical discussions of American history in the classroom.;Chapter One outlines a brief history of anthologies of American literature, while also introducing the terminology and methodology used in this study. Chapter Two explores the role of the headnote as a vehicle for American history in anthologies by focusing on headnotes to Abraham Lincoln. Chapter Three examines the predating of published Native American origin stories in anthologies to a pre-Columbian placement on the chronology. Chapter Four focuses on the expansion of American literature into texts originally composed in Spanish, and Chapter Five argues for a broadening of the "slavery theme" in anthologies.;Index words. Anthologies of American Literature, Anthologies, Abraham Lincoln, Multiculturalism, Native American Origin Stories, Slave Literature, Literary History. |
