'Wild' vs 'Mild' West: A Binary or Symbiotic Unit? The Complexity of the Mythic West Re-Imagined from a Canadian Perspective, 1970-1914
Date
2002
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ORCID
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Degree Level
Masters
Abstract
In popular imagination, the mythical West is widely associated with the American
West. It is misleading to regard the prairie or mountain West in Canada as the mythical
West. The mythical West is a constellation of images defined by the interrelation of
American imagination, myth, and history. People have always imagined the mythical
West, and it has appeared in many forms: images, writings, folk tales, songs, motion
pictures, and television. The word 'West' creates expectations and ideas that are
historically rooted in American culture. This fascination with the 'West' has also
intrigued American historians, and they have focused their energies on explaining the
origins and effects of the imagined 'West.'
In 1870, Canadians became interested in settling their western region, and in order
to sell this wondrous land, they created the image of the 'mild' West. This image was
measured against the Wild West, which existed south of the forty-ninth parallel. Canadian
expansionists, in particular, described a kind of West that was totally different from the
'wild' American West. The Canadian West, as a consequence, owed some of its creation
as being mild to the American West to the degree that it was viewed as mild only in
comparison to its 'wild' counterpart.
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Degree
Master of Arts (M.A.)
Department
History
Program
History