National Consciousness in American Literature in the Late 19th and Early 20th Centuries

doi:10.3969/j.issn.1674-8921.2025.06.004

Abstract

Abstract:

Since the United States rose to global economic power in 1894, American writers gradually recognized the need to break away from long-standing dependence on European cultural traditions and to develop a literature grounded in local experience. In American writing of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, national consciousness appears in three major forms: shaping a national spirit, representing regional culture, and establishing American English as a linguistic standard. As a key vehicle of national spirit, literature actively participated in the formation and dissemination of American national consciousness during this pivotal historical period. Examining this process also provides useful insights for building a national consciousness discourse within China’s foreign language studies.

Key words: national consciousness, American literature, national spirit, regional culture, American English

CLC Number:

I109

LIU Bai, CHENG Tongxin. National Consciousness in American Literature in the Late 19th and Early 20th Centuries[J]. Contemporary Foreign Languages Studies, 2025, 25(6): 30-39.

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