Dichotomy in American Western Mythology Page: 1
vi, 129 leaves : ill.View a full description of this thesis.
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INTRODUCTION:
THE IDEAS OF WALTER PRESCOTT WEBB
Walter Prescott Webb's The Great Plains (1931) and The Great Frontier
(1952), established new directions for students of American history and
world civilization. He saw the subject of the New World ("The Great
Frontier") as a plethora of interrelated developments to be examined within
the larger context of world civilization. Basic to Webb's approach was the
concept of interdisciplinary study. Webb wrote that "any serious student" of
the frontier phenomenon "cannot be bound by political lines. He must be
ready at any time to cross the borders of his own country, or that of the one
he is primarily studying; he must also be ready to break academic fences set
up in universities to separate the so-called fields of knowledge."
Nearly half a century later, many universities now recognize the
validity of this this sort of approach in college curricula. The emergence of
interdisciplinary degree programs reflects a growing need for generalist or
gestaltist scholarship. This need has developed in response to the amassing
of an overwhelming body of specialized research. The role of
interdisciplinary studies, in whatever form the scholarship may take, is to
synthesize some understanding from this expanding thicket of tree-like
information through a forest-like vision. One of the more established forms
of interdisciplinary scholarship is American Studies, a field that Walter
Prescott Webb helped to pioneer.'
' W. P. Webb was instrumental in establishing the American Civilization (American Studies)
Department at The University of Texas, according to Dr. Jim Pearson, former Webb student and
professor of History at The University of North Texas.1
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Robinson, Scott E. (Scott Elmon), 1961-. Dichotomy in American Western Mythology, thesis, May 1991; Denton, Texas. (https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc500528/m1/7/: accessed July 18, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, UNT Digital Library, https://digital.library.unt.edu; .