The Formation of Discourse on and the Representation of "Borderland": Cormac McCarthy's Western Novels

2015 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 25370272
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: Literature in English
• Research Institution: Tokyo Gakugei University
• Principal Investigator: YAMAGUCHI KAZUHIKO 東京学芸大学, 教育学部, 准教授 (20361214)
• Project Period (FY): 2013-04-01 – 2016-03-31
• Keywords: ボーダーランド / コーマック・マッカーシー / アメリカ南西部 / 現代アメリカ文学

Outline of Final Research Achievements

This project researches the formation of discourse on and the representation of the “borderland” in contemporary American literature. Focusing mainly on analyzing Cormac McCarthy’s archival materials and bearing in mind the “border-crossing” of race, class, gender, religion, language, geography, biology, etc., this project demonstrates how the typical “American Character,” based on the Western, white, male-centered notion of the American “West,” is subverted, and questions the relation between the “American Self” and the multiculturalism of the Cold-War era. In so doing, this project clarifies the highly complicated ethical values inherent in McCarthy’s works.

Free Research Field

アメリカ文学