The Outer Edge of the Wave

In an interdisciplinary approach this book for the first time explores frontier-related elements in «real» Las Vegas as well as its representations in literature and film. Drawing on a broad range of sources, the analysis reveals that, although Las Vegas highlights its new frontiers in the entertainment industry, the city operates within a framework that builds on Old Frontier concepts adapted to meet the needs of present-day Western experience culture. The Outer Edge of the Wave therefore suggests that the concept of the American frontier as a cultural symbol has continued to be at the very core of the success of the cultural symbol Las Vegas. Today's Las Vegas, with its kaleidoscopic assemblage of frontier interpretations and adaptations, thus represents a unique version of the American frontier.

Autorentext

The Author: Ingrid Eumann studied at the Ruhr-Universität Bochum and New York University. She received her M.A. degree in American Studies, English Studies, and American History in 2001. During her doctoral phase she was Research Assistant and Assistant Professor at the Department of American Studies at the Ruhr-Universität Bochum, where she also coedited essay collections on Las Vegas and Chicago. The author is currently working as a freelance interpreter and lecturer on cultural topics.

Inhalt

Contents : The American Frontier - Conceptions and Theories - Western Lands and Turner's Thesis - Expanding and Adapting the Concept - Las Vegas - Western Boomtown - History and Residents - Entertainment Metropolis - Promoting the Las Vegas Total - Las Vegas Literature and Film - Sin City and the American West - Overview and Critical Approach - Modern Westering - Cowboy Town - Transformations.