Vanishing Point: Joan Didion and the Horizons of Historical Knowledge
This critical study situates Joan Didion’s memoir Where I Was From in the context of debates about the textuality of history in contemporary culture. In particular the essay is a critical examination of Didion’s interest in the concept of origins. What are the politics of historical origins, how mig...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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European Association for American Studies
2015-08-01
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| Series: | European Journal of American Studies |
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| Online Access: | https://journals.openedition.org/ejas/11086 |
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| _version_ | 1841558104309760000 |
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| author | Kenneth Millard |
| author_facet | Kenneth Millard |
| author_sort | Kenneth Millard |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | This critical study situates Joan Didion’s memoir Where I Was From in the context of debates about the textuality of history in contemporary culture. In particular the essay is a critical examination of Didion’s interest in the concept of origins. What are the politics of historical origins, how might “true origins” be known, and how might a different understanding of such origins facilitate a feminist appraisal of Western American history? The essay argues that Didion’s book is an innovative contribution to the genre of the memoir, and to the social history of California and the American West. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-3763b62554754ee188e8496200c80054 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1991-9336 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2015-08-01 |
| publisher | European Association for American Studies |
| record_format | Article |
| series | European Journal of American Studies |
| spelling | doaj-art-3763b62554754ee188e8496200c800542025-01-06T09:10:51ZengEuropean Association for American StudiesEuropean Journal of American Studies1991-93362015-08-0110210.4000/ejas.11086Vanishing Point: Joan Didion and the Horizons of Historical KnowledgeKenneth MillardThis critical study situates Joan Didion’s memoir Where I Was From in the context of debates about the textuality of history in contemporary culture. In particular the essay is a critical examination of Didion’s interest in the concept of origins. What are the politics of historical origins, how might “true origins” be known, and how might a different understanding of such origins facilitate a feminist appraisal of Western American history? The essay argues that Didion’s book is an innovative contribution to the genre of the memoir, and to the social history of California and the American West.https://journals.openedition.org/ejas/11086historyCaliforniaDidionmemoiroriginsfeminism. |
| spellingShingle | Kenneth Millard Vanishing Point: Joan Didion and the Horizons of Historical Knowledge European Journal of American Studies history California Didion memoir origins feminism. |
| title | Vanishing Point: Joan Didion and the Horizons of Historical Knowledge |
| title_full | Vanishing Point: Joan Didion and the Horizons of Historical Knowledge |
| title_fullStr | Vanishing Point: Joan Didion and the Horizons of Historical Knowledge |
| title_full_unstemmed | Vanishing Point: Joan Didion and the Horizons of Historical Knowledge |
| title_short | Vanishing Point: Joan Didion and the Horizons of Historical Knowledge |
| title_sort | vanishing point joan didion and the horizons of historical knowledge |
| topic | history California Didion memoir origins feminism. |
| url | https://journals.openedition.org/ejas/11086 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT kennethmillard vanishingpointjoandidionandthehorizonsofhistoricalknowledge |