Postcolonialism – Mark Haviland

Integrating an Intertextuality and Postcolonial Study of American Transcendentalist Literature

As Henry David Thoreau wrote in Walden, “Authors, more than kings, exert influence on mankind” (73). When Thoreau published these words, he was not pontificating about his own prowess as a writer; instead, he was attempting to articulate the importance and impact of all writers, books, and written language. Certainly, Thoreau, along with other American transcendental philosophers, had experienced the magnificent power of learning via literature; in fact, the knowledge he gained through reading must have kindled some of the ideas he would eventually publish for others to imbibe. With this assertion in mind, and using the method of TEXTUAL ANALYSIS, I propose to perform an INTERTEXTUALITY study between American transcendental literature and philosophical literature from earlier time periods and varying cultures. Although Emerson and Thoreau, the two authors who fashioned my paramount objects of study, gave the impression that they were speaking as individuals, intertextual analysis realizes that texts are created “out of the sea of former texts” (Bazerman 83). While Bazerman’s overview of intertextuality focuses on the explicit and implicit relations that texts possess, the varying levels of intertextuality also come into play, many of which play into the roles of transcendental writing: drawing explicit social dramas, using statements as background, support, and contrast, and relying on preconceived beliefs and ideas (87).

Since societal problems, philosophies, and beliefs have been promulgated for centuries, I feel that there are myriad connections between transcendental works and literature published prior. I have no doubts that many of the transcendentalists’ ideas were novel; however, it is also evident that writers like Emerson and Thoreau placed old ideas into a new context, thus exhibiting various forms of recontextualization. Previous studies have been conducted regarding the foundation of American transcendental thought, yet most of these investigations link Emerson to English Renaissance writers, Wordsworth, or other romantic writings from Europe. Meanwhile, Thoreau’s basis in transcendental thought resides with Emerson, his mentor. These types of studies are factual and sometimes painstaking, but they also seem to posit significantly recognizable information, for there are plenty of journals and other published accounts where Emerson and Thoreau articulate the origins of some of their fundamental philosophies. Nevertheless, my research will venture to uncover similar concepts in texts written in numerous time periods and places, texts that may or may not have been encountered by Thoreau or Emerson. Instead of focusing on romantic or renaissance writings, the majority of my studies will reflect writings from the English Restoration, English Reformation, Age of Reason, and the Puritans. While some scholars have made subtle connections between American transcendentalism and English Reformation/Puritan writings, I plan to enhance these studies by looking specifically at works by Samuel Johnson and Jonathan Edwards. Moreover, I intend to link some of the ideas posed by the transcendentalists to the notions disseminated by Thomas Paine, a more unique study that will combine reason with romance. As Rebecca Gould writes, transcendentalists felt that knowledge should be divided between the concept of understanding through rational reflections and the process of reason, which transcendentalists feel is an inherent human gift that every person should nurture (1653). This evidence promoting the importance of reason among transcendentalists should assist in connecting Paine’s writings with those of Emerson and Thoreau.

In attempting this enterprise, I already realize that I will encroach into areas that are already hazy, probably making them cloudier on occasion. For example, one of the major debates among scholars of American transcendentalism and textual analysis concentrates on examining American transcendentalism’s identity. This involves where the transcendentalists received their inspiration, but more importantly, the debates focus on reasons behind the movement and a proper labeling of the movement. My loyalties lie with critics like Fulton and Osgood, scholars who adamantly oppose the view that American transcendentalism is just a Lockean revolt (Fulton 392). Likewise, these scholars are apt to believe that the American movement was mostly conceived as a rebirth of the European Renaissance/Restoration (390). Of course, this is one area where I will slightly disagree, since I plan to research origins also associated with the Age of Reason and Puritanism. As for the other side of the debate spectrum, I will not accept Matthiessen’s sweeping notion that the American transcendental movement was its own innovative entity and not a rebirth from other climes (Fulton 384).

Although I disagree with Matthiessen’s claim regarding American transcendentalism, I do agree with his identification of the NEW CRITICISM as a mode of study that combines cultural and historical attributes (Graff 217). On the surface, this might not seem pertinent to my intertextuality study; however, without the New Criticism, transcendental studies may not have experienced its rebirth among critics. While many New Critics sought to separate history from literature, others, like Matthiessen, helped fashion the cultural and historical methods so predominant today. Still, American transcendentalism’s place within the New Criticism is murky and contradictory. Since there appears to be a drastic increase in transcendental studies in the 1930s, this seems to coincide with the spawning of the New Criticism (Paine 631). Nevertheless, it must still be noted that the New Critics showed contempt for any writings that were academic and political, yet this same movement promoted writers like Melville and Thoreau (Graff 213). Hashing out these apparent contradictions will be integral when I conduct my study, and in order to fulfill the final phase of my scholarly study it will be vital to identify Thoreau and Emerson as valid authors relevant to New Criticism’s scope, for this will promote my perspective that recognizes American transcendentalist literature as being worthy of postcolonial analysis.

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POSTCOLONIAL theory and American transcendental writings are rarely tied to one another, but I see great potential and merit to an examination that links the two. Booker’s definition of postcolonial theory, which is referenced in English Studies: An Introduction to the Discipline(s), is as follows: “Postcolonial theory arises in a cultural context informed by the attempt to build a new hybrid culture that transcends the past but still draws on the vestigial echoes of precolonial culture, the remnants of the colonial culture, and the continuing legacy of traditions of anticolonial resistance” (McComiskey 255). After all, as my intertextuality research will show, transcendentalist writers do indeed draw on past cultures while integrating a framework for a new culture. Furthermore, Renu Jeneja describes postcolonial literatures as works that alter a person’s way of thinking about two different cultures (65). Since this is the case, I see no viable argument against joining these two areas of study, for I agree with the majority of critics who articulate the fact that postcolonial studies should focus on domineered cultures and those individuals who are forced to succumb to society’s whims and colonialism’s influence. Essentially, I see the transcendentalists as a minority, a small group of people who are trying to fight against colonialism’s impact while establishing their own unique hybrid culture. Meanwhile, it must be noted that some connections between transcendentalist works and postcolonialism have been conducted, but these studies tend to reflect feminist theory based around the works of Margaret Fuller, the most prominent female transcendentalist who published feminist literature in The Dial, which was the Transcendentalist Club’s magazine (Miller 120). Instead of this tactic, I will continue to examine Thoreau and Emerson through the postcolonial lens. While performing this study, I will align myself with Marek Paryz, one of the few scholars to publish a study devoted to transcendentalism and postcolonialism. Published in 2012, Paryz’s book analyzes postcolonial aspects found in Emerson, Thoreau, and Whitman; in fact, Paryz clearly expresses Thoreau’s postcolonial position through his notions of living in an inescapable empire (100).

Click on Paryz's book to view the table of contents and full-text Ebook version. *ODU login will be required. — Click on Paryz’s book to view the table of contents and full-text Ebook version. *ODU login will be required.

While I realize the magnitude of my entire study is immense and challenging, I also realize that it may be even more demanding to package everything together in a cohesive manner. In order to even attempt this rigorous endeavor it will be essential to understand all of my potential objects of study, whether they are works by Emerson, Thoreau, Edwards, Paine, Johnson, or even Paryz. Along with understanding these works, comprehending the theories prevalent during these publications’ time periods and the historical influences associated with the philosophies contained within will need to take precedence. No doubt, this will not be easy, for there will be myriad genres covered in the study: philosophical fiction, classic fiction, memoirs, essays, autobiographies, and narrative nonfiction. Aside from the various theories associated with each genre, accruing professional knowledge through associations will be imperative. For example, joining groups such as the Thoreau Society, the American Philosophical Association, and the Thomas Paine National Historical Association could all prove beneficial, for each of these organizations promote publications and offer valuable professional conferences that are worth attending. Even though I am aware of the prospective challenges this study holds, perhaps my biggest concern involves potential biases that I possess. Overall, I place great credence in the philosophies implemented by the American transcendentalists, but I need to make sure that my biases do not affect the true nature of my study. Most importantly, while researching, I need to remind myself that it doesn’t matter if the ideas articulated by the American transcendentalists were original or not. I don’t need to place Emerson and Thoreau upon a pedestal; instead, I need to find out where their brilliant ideas originated, for the philosophies are most significant, not the men or cultures from where they came.

Works Cited

Bazerman, Charles, and Paul Prior, eds. What Writing Does and How It Does It: An Introduction to Analyzing Texts and Textual Practices. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 2004. Print.

Fulton, Joe B. “Reason for Renaissance: The Rhetoric of Reformation and Rebirth in the Age of Transcendentalism.” The New England Quarterly 80.3 (2007): 383-407. JSTOR. Web. 21 October 2016.

Gould, Rebecca Kneale. “Transcendentalism.” Encyclopedia of Religion and Nature. ed. Bron Taylor. New York: Bloomsbury Academic Publishing, 2010, Print.

Graff, Gerald. “The Promise of American Literature Studies.” Professing Literature: An Institutional History. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1987, pp. 209-25. Print.

Juneja, Renu. “Pedagogy of Difference.” College Teaching 41.2 (1993): 64-70. EBSCOhost: Education Research Complete. Web. 18 October 2016.

McComiskey, Bruce, ed. English Studies: An Introduction to the Discipline(s). Urbana, IL: NCTE, 2006. Print.

Miller, Thomas P. The Evolution of College English: Literacy Studies from the Puritans to the Postmoderns. Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press, 2011. Print.

Paine, Gregory. “Trends in American Literary Scholarship with Reviews of Some Recent Books.” Studies in Philology 29.4 (1932): 630-43. JSTOR. Web. 28 October 2016.

Paryz, Marek. The Postcolonial and Imperial Experience in American Transcendentalism. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2012. Ebook Library. Web. 24 October 2016.

Thoreau, Henry David. Walden, Civil Disobedience, and Other Writings. ed. William Rossi. New York: Norton, 2008. Print.

Analyzing Emerson and Thoreau’s Writings to Answer Major Questions in Transcendental Studies

Since my research in the field of AMERICAN LITERATURE focuses distinctly on writing from the AMERICAN TRANSCENDENTALISTS, the objects of study are condensed to writings created during a span of only a few years. While this may seem like a relatively small body of time and work, there are still immense literary annals devoted to writers from this period of time who dabbled with transcendental philosophies. Writers such as Margaret Fuller, Bronson Alcott, Louisa May Alcott, Theodore Parker, and even Nathaniel Hawthorne and Walt Whitman, all published works of transcendental literature; however, my explicit study focuses on RALPH WALDO EMERSON and HENRY DAVID THOREAU’S contributions. Historically, these two men produced the most essential works of transcendental literature, so their writings represent the most widely accepted objects of study in relation to American transcendental studies. Even more specifically, my study looks at Emerson and Thoreau’s political works, and many of these works can be found in the Transcendentalist Club’s distinct publication, THE DIAL, where the transcendentalists were able to “communicate and exert their influence” from 1840-1844 (Gould 1652).

Click on the image of Thoreau and Emerson to learn more about the Association for Global New Thought.

When scholars analyze Emerson and Thoreau’s political essays and other literary contributions, there are myriad studies performed. Many scholars choose to analyze specific essays in order to identify contradictions, paradoxes, and incongruities among Emerson or Thoreau’s ideas. For example, Shawn St. Jean examined Thoreau’s “Resistance to Civil Government,” “Slavery in Massachusetts,” and the John Brown essays in order to deviate from normal perceptions and show that Thoreau actually shows consistency in his beliefs, even if those beliefs are altered by political and social upheavals (354). Meanwhile, although analyzing each writer’s potential inconsistencies is a common mode of study, there are plenty of other critics who analyze the writings of the time period in order to show how transcendental literature relates to other historic movements in the United States and the rest of the world. Myriad critics link America’s period of transcendentalism to the European Renaissance, England’s Restoration, America’s Southern Renaissance, or the Puritan influence, yet others see America’s renaissance as its own unique entity, one that is a revolt or completely groundbreaking in its approach. Nevertheless, after reviewing a majority of the objects of study, the more collective opinion is that the transcendentalist age was not a birth; instead, it was a renaissance that gathered inspiration from numerous previous ages while generating some of its own novel nuances (Fulton 407).

While some of these areas may be touched upon in my own research, my primary goal is to analyze Emerson and Thoreau’s works from a POSTCOLONIAL standpoint. While performing this research, looking at transcendental literature through a CULTURAL STUDIES lens is required. Since cultural/postcolonial studies are tied to the inception of the NEW CRITICISM in America, analyzing the transcendental works to identify how they fit into the New Criticism approach is necessary. Furthermore, in order to accomplish these tasks, the importance of the history of American literature studies also needs to be addressed to show how transcendental studies can help answer some of the major questions posed by scholars of both postcolonial and New Criticism studies. One of the major questions related to the New Criticism focuses on what works of literature were revived after WWI. As Gregory Paine notes, Emerson and Thoreau were two of the authors whose works rose in the “literary firmament” during the 1930s (631). This augmentation fits well with the New Criticism’s objectives to become a cultural and historical method where continuity could be charted in literary traditions in writings from the Puritans, Transcendentalists, and Romantics (Graff 217).

While this connection between the New Criticism, the Transcendentalists, and cultural studies may seem obvious, the inclusion of transcendental studies is often debated. Graff continues by noting that New Criticism’s emergence created a revival in unpopular writers like Melville and Thoreau, for the critics were attempting to scorn everything academic (213). The main hurdle here is that Emerson and Thoreau’s political works were often viewed by many scholars as primarily academic, and a major question as to transcendentalism’s place as a conservative or liberal movement must be posed. Obviously, most critics refer to the movement as liberal; however, certain elements of Emerson’s writings in particular display more conservative approaches that are unique but not radical. As Thomas P. Miller writes, “The New Criticism was instrumental in distancing literary studies from the more politically engaged schools of criticism that were popular in the Progressive era—those of “Leftists, or Proletarians…” (162). Miller’s statement muddies the water further, for it seems nearly impossible that the New Criticism can praise Thoreau while having contempt for academic and political literature.

The connections between the New Criticism and American transcendentalism are quite hazy, but most scholars find or consider major connections between transcendentalism and postcolonial studies. According to Kropf, “American literature, in contrast and uniquely among national literatures, defines itself according to geographical and political criteria” (21). This is precisely what transcendentalist writings do, and postcolonial studies remain part of this realm too. Perhaps Renu Juneja sums up postcolonial studies best when she says, “This is a literature that veritably forces on our consciousness, and at all various levels, the fact that ways of thinking are altered by this contact between two different cultures” (65). While this summation clearly articulates the value of postcolonial studies, it can simultaneously be used to define exactly what transcendental writers like Emerson and Thoreau endeavored to accomplish.

Works Cited

Fulton, Joe B. “Reason for Renaissance: The Rhetoric of Reformation and Rebirth in the Age of Transcendentalism.” The New England Quarterly 80.3 (2007): 383-407. JSTOR. Web. 21 October 2016.

Gould, Rebecca Kneale. “Transcendentalism.” Encyclopedia of Religion and Nature. ed. Bron Taylor. New York: Bloomsbury Academic Publishing, 2010, Print.

Graff, Gerald. “The Promise of American Literature Studies.” Professing Literature: An Institutional History. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1987, pp. 209-25. Print.

Juneja, Renu. “Pedagogy of Difference.” College Teaching 41.2 (1993): 64-70. EBSCOhost: Education Research Complete. Web. 18 October 2016.

Kropf, Carl R. “The Nationalistic Criticism of Early American Literature.” Early American Literature 18.1 (1983): 17-30. JSTOR. Web. 13 September 2016.

Miller, Thomas P. The Evolution of College English: Literacy Studies from the Puritans to the Postmoderns. Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press, 2011. Print.

Paine, Gregory. “Trends in American Literary Scholarship with Reviews of Some Recent Books.” Studies in Philology 29.4 (1932): 630-43. JSTOR. Web. 28 October 2016.

St. Jean, Shawn. “Thoreau’s Radical Consistency.” Massachusetts Review 39.3 (1998): 341-57. JSTOR. Web. 24 October 2016.

Personal and Professional Epistemological Alignments

Although I have yet to encounter a specific epistemology that completely defines my theoretic stance, there are fragments from other epistemologies that I can weave together in order to create my own unique framework. As a proponent of the AMERICAN TRANSCENDENTALISTS from the mid-nineteenth century, I align with their basic philosophies promoting individualism and resistance to norms. Essentially, the Transcendentalists focused on “shaping life according to individually discerned aesthetic and spiritual priorities, rather than those of social convention or the marketplace” (Gould 1652-53). While there are myriad facets to the philosophies of the American Transcendentalists, three aspects are more important to my theoretical stance than others: reason, religion, and the self.

Click on the image of the Transcendentalists to read more about their philosophies at VCU's Web of American Transcendentalism. — Click on the image of the Transcendentalists to read more about their philosophies at VCU’s Web of American Transcendentalism.

As Gould denotes, “In terms of epistemology, the Transcendentalists resisted Locke’s empiricist approach, which proposed that knowledge comes from sense experiences which are impressed on the waiting mind just as words are written on a blank slate” (1653). Instead of aligning with Locke’s theories, the Transcendentalists felt that knowledge should be divided between the concept of understanding through rational reflections and the process of reason, which Transcendentalists feel is an inherent human gift that every person should nurture (Gould 1653). Meanwhile, regarding spiritual beliefs, the Transcendentalists were apt to reject all orthodox religions; however, they believed in a divine Creator while discarding the notion of the possibility of divine miracles (Gould 1653). Overall, Transcendentalists make decisions and exist through the impact of the spiritual world emanating around them, not through preconceived norms established by society.

The Transcendentalists’ lack of conformity attempted to unseat norms that had been traditional in the past, especially during America’s colonial period. This is particularly true regarding the perception of religion in America, a tradition firmly established by the Puritans. Thomas P. Miller is quick to point out that the most valued forms of literacy in American during the last three centuries have evolved from religious literature (15). Examining the previous perceptions of religion in America is one of the best ways to identify how Transcendentalists sought to avoid conformity. While the Transcendentalists rejected orthodox religion and dismissed divine miracles, the Puritans endeavored to satiate God’s will and were apt to look at all historical events and daily occurrences as providential signs (Hagenbuchle 127). I offer this example, which is one of many possibilities, in order to make a case for combining the Transcendentalists’ epistemology with a more prominent theory of criticism: POSTCOLONIALISM.

Postcolonial studies tend to assess colonialism’s influence on dominated cultures and groups in society, and this is most clearly evident in African American, Feminist, and Native studies. One scholar of Native American studies, Dr. Drew Lopenzina, looks to examine major questions in his field by focusing on how the colonial period expressed individual and cultural agency through Western notions of writing; furthermore, in order to help accomplish this mission, he doesn’t look at colonial literature that describes Native Americans. Instead, his task is to look at what Natives themselves said about the colonial time period in order to truly “investigate Native communities and how their accounts contradict white men, thus establishing a new coherence about the true native agenda” (Lopenzina). Dr. Lopenzina’s epistemology aligns with established researchers like Robert Warrior. Shari Huhndorf articulates Warrior’s perspective by documenting his perseverance in developing a Native school of thought where Native Americans “stand at the helm of their own intellectual and academic destiny” (1618). These types of perspectives may not seem to contribute to a merging of transcendental and postcolonial studies, but my proposal does possess merit.

Even though most scholars define postcolonial theory as the study of the power relations between Western nations and the territories they colonize, Booker’s definition, which is referenced in English Studies: An Introduction to the Discipline(s), takes on a slightly different scope. According to Booker, “Postcolonial theory arises in a cultural context informed by the attempt to build a new hybrid culture that transcends the past but still draws on the vestigial echoes of precolonial culture, the remnants of the colonial culture, and the continuing legacy of traditions of anticolonial resistance” (McComiskey 255). With this description in place, parallels can be drawn, for the Transcendentalists worked to build a new culture, one that merged colonial traditions with novel modes of existence and philosophy. Once again, proof of this can be reflected in the relationship between the religious attitudes of the Transcendentalists and the Puritans. As Gould writes, “While theologically departing firmly from their Puritan heritage, the Transcendentalists continued, while altering, the Puritan view of nature as a ‘book’ to be read for spiritual lessons” (1653). Connections such as these are riddled throughout Transcendentalist literature, and to a lesser degree, the Transcendentalists were also domineered, despite their immense efforts, by the prevailing culture of the time period.

Although it has already been implied, my objects of study include American Transcendentalist works from Emerson, Thoreau, Fuller, and others; in fact, works like these from the postcolonial period firmly represent what postcolonial scholars attempt to explore. As Renu Juneja writes, “This [postcolonial literature] is a literature that veritably forces on our consciousness, and at various levels, the fact that ways of thinking are altered by this contact between two different cultures” (65). The study of the contact between the conforming culture and the nonconformists has substantial potential, and while I have no personal agenda, unlike Dr. Lopenzina, who undertakes a study that can contribute to ethical and social justice, there can and will be other avenues to study in relation to this research. For example, when examining key works of the Transcendentalists, Margaret Fuller’s work can be simultaneously applied through a Feminist scope. However, from my initial standpoint, I wish to advance my own interest in the nonconformist philosophies associated with the Transcendentalists; eventually, on a more professional level, my objective will be to connect the American Transcendentalists’ philosophies to other philosophies promulgated by thinkers from other cultures, countries, and time periods.

Works Cited

Gould, Rebecca Kneale. “Transcendentalism.” Encyclopedia of Religion and Nature. ed. Bron Taylor. New York: Bloomsbury Academic Publishing, 2010, Print.

Hagenbuchle, Roland. “American Literature and the Nineteenth-Century Crisis in Epistemology: The Example of Charles Brockden Brown.” Early American Literature 23.2 (1988): 121- 151. EBSCOhost Religion and Philosophy Collection. Web. 4 October 2016.

Huhndorf, Shari. “Literature and the Politics of Native American Studies.” PMLA 120.5 (2005): 1618-1627. JSTOR. Web. 4 October 2016.

Juneja, Renu. “Pedagogy of Difference.” College Teaching 41.2 (1993): 64-70. EBSCOhost: Education Research Complete. Web. 18 October 2016.

Lopenzina, Drew, Dr. Personal Telephone Interview. 13 September 2016.

McComiskey, Bruce, ed. English Studies: An Introduction to the Discipline(s). Urbana, IL: NCTE, 2006. Print.

Miller, Thomas P. The Evolution of College English: Literacy Studies from the Puritans to the Postmoderns. Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press, 2011. Print.

*Click on the link below to learn more about the International Society for the Study of Religion, Nature, and Culture. This site also provides a link to information about Taylor’s Encyclopedia of Religion and Nature.

http://www.religionandnature.com/index.htm