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Title The Politics of Space and Place in Contemporary Native American Women’s Writings

Author(s) Mr. Fasih-ur-Rehman

Abstract ABSTRACT Thesis Title: The Politics of Space and Place in Contemporary Native American Women’s Writings An historico-cultural review of prehistoric, pre- and post-contact Native American sociospatial structures reveals that Native American normative geographies have always been dictated by patriarchies. In the prehistoric and pre-contact era, Native American patriarchy directed the normative geographies, whereas Euro-American patriarchy controlled the sociospatial paradigms in the post-contact era. In both cases, Native American women remained spatially marginalized and subject to spatial discrimination. Subsequently, she developed a fractured sense of place that was further reified by the spatial experience of out of placeness within these ambivalent normative geographies. To overcome her spatial marginalization and reconstruct her spatial belongingness to the Native American geographical and social spaces, she contests and challenges these normative geographies by engaging in out of place actions and transgression. The present study explores Native American woman’s rejection of her spatially marginalized location within the Native American normative geographies as portrayed in Louise Erdrich’s Tracks, Diane Glancy’s Reason for Crows, and Polingaysi Qoyawayma’s No Turning Back. The study maintains that the spatially marginalized protagonists of these works challenge and contest their marginalized location within the Native American normative geographies of corporal, social and economic spaces. The study investigates the portrayal of Native American spaces and Native American woman’s spatial experiences by engaging theories from diverse fields, including but not limited to Tim Cresswell’s theorization of in placeness, out of placeness, and transgression; Linda McDowell’s theorization of gender and gegraphy; Doreen Massey’s theory of woman’s place in economic spaces; Paul Rodaway’s theorization of sensuous experiences of space and place; Bartrand Whestphal’s notion of polysensoriality; Yi-Fu Tuan's theory of space and experiences; Pamela Moss and Isabela Dyck’s conceptualization of spatiality of the disabled body; and Edward C Ralph notion of existential spatiality. The study concludes that the Native American woman does not submit to the normative geographic structures as dictated by the Native American and Euro-American patriarchy in the contemporary United States. Native American women destabilize the patriarchal orientation of Native American normative geographies and attempt to experience in-placeness through out of place actions, and iv transgression. The protagonists of the selected works cross the spatial boundaries, and reject their marginalized spatial location within the Native American normative geographies.

Type Thesis/Dissertation PhD

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Department English

Language English

Publication Date 2021-07-09

Subject English Literature

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