Background
Burnham, Michelle was born on December 11, 1962 in Brooklyn. Daughter of Richard Allen and Ulla (Ewert) Burnham.
(In a radically new interpretation and synthesis of highly...)
In a radically new interpretation and synthesis of highly popular eighteenth- and nineteenth-century genres, Michelle Burnham examines the literature of captivity, and, using Homi Bhabha's concept of interstitiality as a base, provides a valuable redescription of the ambivalent origins of the United States national narrative. Stories of colonial captives, sentimental heroines, or fugitive slaves embody a "binary division between captive and captor that is based on cultural, national, or racial difference, " but they also transcend these preexisting antagonistic dichotomies by creating a new social space, and herein lies their emotional power. Beginning from a simple question on why captivity, particularly that of women, so often inspires a sentimental response, Burnham examines how these narratives elicit both sympathy and pleasure. The texts carry such great emotional impact precisely because they "traverse those very cultural, national, and racial boundaries that they seem so indelibly to inscribe. Captivity literature, like its heroines, constantly negotiates zones of contact, " and crossing those borders reveals new cultural paradigms to the captive and, ultimately, the reader.
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Burnham, Michelle was born on December 11, 1962 in Brooklyn. Daughter of Richard Allen and Ulla (Ewert) Burnham.
Bachelor, Trinity College, Hartford, Connecticut, 1984. Master of Arts, State University of New York, Buffalo, 1991. Doctor of Philosophy, State University of New York, Buffalo, 1994.
Assistant professor, Auburn (Alabama) U., 1994-1997; assistant professor, Santa Clara (California) U., since 1997.
(In a radically new interpretation and synthesis of highly...)
(In a new interpretation and synthsis of highly popular 18...)
Member Modern Language Association, American Studies Association, Society of Early Americanists, American Society Eighteenth Century Studies.
Married Tod Philip Hebert Junior, Oct.31, 1991. 1 child, Mara Alice Burnham Cassin.