Ulmiform-ed: an ecocritical experiment in the material culture of American elm
| Author(s) | Fedoryk, Peter | |
| Date Accessioned | 2021-12-09T13:12:06Z | |
| Date Available | 2021-12-09T13:12:06Z | |
| Publication Date | 2021 | |
| SWORD Update | 2021-08-11T16:05:56Z | |
| Abstract | In the face of the twentieth-century ecological decline of American elm (Ulmus americana), this thesis presents new ways of approaching the species’ historical legacy. I argue that the material study of elm wheel hubs and elm bark canoes produces valuable insights into the tree’s past interactions with colonial and Indigenous people of early North America. These historic craftspeople recognized the unique natural properties of elm matter, capitalizing on them to successfully produce objects meant for a certain purpose. But rather than focus only on the purpose people intended for elm objects, this thesis closely interrogates their material experience to outline how they subtly participated in the ecological mixture of diverse aquatic and terrestrial environments. As objects made from elm facilitated the movement of people and goods throughout diverse communities, they also shaped and created physical and ecological landscapes of early North America. | en_US |
| Advisor | Roeber, Catharine Dann | |
| Degree | M.A. | |
| Program | University of Delaware, Winterthur Program in American Material Culture | |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.58088/byt0-4741 | |
| Unique Identifier | 1287996612 | |
| URL | https://udspace.udel.edu/handle/19716/29525 | |
| Language | en | |
| Publisher | University of Delaware | en_US |
| URI | https://login.udel.idm.oclc.org/login?url=https://www.proquest.com/dissertations-theses/ulmiform-ed-ecocritical-experiment-material/docview/2572612126/se-2?accountid=10457 | |
| Keywords | American elm | |
| Keywords | Bark canoe | |
| Keywords | Connoisseurship | |
| Keywords | Wheel hub | |
| Keywords | Winterthur | |
| Keywords | Wood | |
| Title | Ulmiform-ed: an ecocritical experiment in the material culture of American elm | en_US |
| Type | Thesis | en_US |