Civic Myths: A Law-and-Literature Approach to CitizenshipAs questions of citizenship generate new debates for this generation of Americans, Brook Thomas argues for revitalizing the role of literature in civic education. Thomas defines civic myths as compelling stories about national origin, membership, and values that are generated by conflicts within the concept of citizenship itself. Selected works of literature, he claims, work on these myths by challenging their terms at the same time that they work with them by relying on the power of narrative to produce compelling new stories. Civic Myths consists of four case studies: Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter and "the good citizen"; Edward Everett Hale's "The Man without a Country" and "the patriotic citizen"; Mark Twain's Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and "the independent citizen"; and Maxine Hong Kingston's China Men and "the immigrant citizen." Thomas also provides analysis of the civic mythology surrounding Abraham Lincoln and the case of Ex parte Milligan. Engaging current debates about civil society, civil liberties, civil rights, and immigration, Thomas draws on the complexities of law and literature to probe the complexities of U.S. citizenship. |
Contents
| 1 | |
The Good Citizen Transgression and Civil Society | 27 |
The Patriotic Citizen Lincoln and Civil Liberties | 55 |
Civil Liberties v Civil Rights | 102 |
The Independent Citizen Mugwumpery and Civil Rights | 125 |
The Immigrant Citizen Wong Kim Ark and Civil Talk | 177 |
Keeping Discussions of US Citizenship Open | 215 |
Notes | 239 |
Index | 287 |
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Common terms and phrases
African Americans Arac argued argument blacks book’s Boston called Cambridge chapter China Chinese citizens citizenship clause civic ideals civic myths civil liberties civil rights civil society claim Constitution country’s critics cultural democracy democratic Dimmesdale Dred Scott Edward Everett Hale equal ethnic Ex parte Milligan father federal Finn’s Fourteenth Amendment Gettysburg Address Hale’s story Harlan Hawthorne Hawthorne’s helped Hester Huck Huck’s Huckleberry Finn Ibid identity imagine immigrants important independence individual Ingham instance jurisdiction jus soli Justice Kingston liberal Lincoln literary loyalty Mark Twain military Milligan moral mugwumpery Mugwumps narrative Nathaniel Hawthorne Nolan Nonetheless novel on/with one’s patriotism people’s political president Puritan racial readers Republican rule Scarlet Letter sense slave slavery Smith South Southern Sumner Supreme Court sympathy tion Tourgée Trilling U.S. citizenship Union United University Press Vallandigham vote Wong Kim Ark writes York