Customer Reviews

Native American Literatures: An Introduction (Literary Genres)

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To the previous responder...Mircea Eliade, immanent philosopher of anthropology, stated in his book The Myth of Eternal Return that, with regards to "archaic man," "our concern has been to draw the attention of the philosopher, and of the cultivated man in general, to certain spiritual positions that, although they have been transcended in various regions of the globe, are instructive for our knowledge of man and for man's history itself" (xxv). Dr. Lundquist is introducing, in perspicuous language, a postmodern approach to Native American literatures, revealing how pervading, spurious colonialist and reductive attitudes have long kept people of rich spiritual, mythic, and cultural heritage muted and in the dark. Touching on semiotics, Levinasian ethics, Native Christian discourse, anthropology, and deconstruction (among other approaches) Lundquist adroitly shows how Western metaphors of progress, radical individualism, as well as binary attitudes towards America's indigenous peoples not only contravene the truth but also injure our nation and deprives us of other metaphors that could heal various wounds. As Eliade asserts, looking to the past, i.e. Native American history both past and present, we can find new ways of connecting ourselves to our environment both geographical, political, and social.

Through introducing various terms like ecopsycology, original trauma, ontogenetic crippling, and other important terms Lundquist guides the neophyte through some of the more influential books, providing new paradigms and foundational insight through which to approach them.

Dr. Lundquist had a focus on Native American studies in her PhD and spent significant time among various tribes. In UT, where she teaches and resides, she is respected in local tribes and regularly teaches classes on Native American Literature. I have taken several university courses from her, including Native American Lit where I was introduced to this book, and can assert from first-hand experience her expansive familiarity as well as intellectual mastery of material both modern and archaic. I highly recommend this book to people interested in critical theory, Native American lit and ethnographic studies. The book also provides a rich bibliography that can be used as an excellent guide towards further study.

This book will not only challenge your western paradigms but also give you a strong theoretical foundation from which to approach Native American studies.

That Dr. Lundquist is a most skillful teacher and careful scholar is evident throughout her work. Here, she serves as a welcoming guide for the student interested in approaching multi-cultural studies generally and Native American literature specifically. She avoids the pitfall of overgeneralizing about a diverse body of literature. Instead, she has devised a cultural bridge for the literary student that celebrates the diversity of Native literature and puts it in an accessible context for both the scholar and the casual student. Dr. Lundquist is a pioneer in the nascent genre of Native American literary criticsm, and this book deserves a place in the library of any student interested in the indigenous literature of the Americas.

Professor Lundquist writes on the basis of her profound knowledge of Native American Cultures dating back to the early-1970s, when she first started her research at the University of Michigan. Her doctoral research showed that "you can't teach people that you don't understand," and she put her knowledge into practice from the start by teaching Native American texts in the classroom. Professor Lundquist has touched the hearts of countless students in her 40 year teaching career, both Native American, and otherwise. She cares deeply about her subject matter, which she started studying out of a profound love for Native peoples. The compassion she's developed over the years is evident in her book. She has taken great care in her research, and in presenting the material. Her erudition is vast. Professor Lundquist speaks from the personal transformation that she underwent in studying Native American Literature when she suggests that the reader's view will also be changed in studying Native Literatures. She is perhaps one of the rare individuals who has cultivated a marriage of wisdom and compassion in her scholarship, and in the insights she has to share with us. I highly recommend this book.

While this book may provide decent preliminary overview for someone who knows nothing about Native American literature, it lacks any original incite and critical depth.

One of it's crucial claims states that one should "Read Native American Literature open to the possibility that you might find yourself rethinking your view of the world" (29).

I could have gotten the same message from a fortune cookie. This is definitely not literary criticism.

Coming from someone who has spent significant graduate research on Native American literature, I recommend that you do not waste your time reading this so-called "critical work."