Date of Award
1-1-2023
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
M.A. in Southern Studies
First Advisor
Kathryn McKee
Second Advisor
Annette Trefzer
Third Advisor
Andrew Harper
Relational Format
dissertation/thesis
Abstract
Mississippi author Eudora Welty’s particular attunement to her characters’ place and time earned her canonization among southern authors bound by a peculiar sense of place. Our understanding of place, though, is rapidly evolving, spreading theoretical roots across disciplines and striving to keep up with global environmental change. Adopting frameworks from ecology, sociology, and comparative literature, this work seeks out the common denominators between Welty’s sense of place and our present perspectives, training our eye to notice relationships previously unconsidered. Unmistakable throughlines in Welty’s writing and photography offer fertile grounds for tracing place theory through visual and critical analysis, and find meaning as documents of place and time. Side by side, the two modes of representation illustrate Welty’s awareness of her own place as well as her distinct respect for others’ placemaking practices. Her emphasis on environmental contributions to sense of place, in addition to her expansive gardening knowledge, lays the groundwork for an ecocritical evaluation of inter-species dynamics as well. Following multispecies theorist Anna Tsing’s prompt to look for meaning in precarious environments, this work recontextualizes Welty’s landscapes as places of disturbance rather than harmony, that demand new ways of noticing relationships. In an age of social and environmental upheaval, we may look to Welty’s work to uncover her habit of place-noticing, and use her methodology to reassemble sense of place.
Recommended Citation
Gaines, Lucy, "A Storyteller's Remove: Place-Noticing in Welty's Disturbed Landscapes" (2023). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 2809.
https://egrove.olemiss.edu/etd/2809