I met with Betjemann today and we discussed the progress of the thesis. I am feeling pretty good about the whole thing. He suggested the idea of three case studies which was right on target with what I was thinking.
Three chapters, three novels, three water issues.
I am feeling certain that the first novel I discuss will be The Custom of the Country. A history of reservoirs and drinking water with close attention to water issues in NYC should work well. Furthermore there is the Wharton family connection to a proposed drinking water project in New Jersey's Pine Barrens.
The Fruit of the Tree will likely be the second case study with overlapping focus on the history of textile mills and water pollution in New England. I'm also intending to look into land reclamation and wetland loss in the region.
The third novel is a mystery, but right now I'm thinking that The Glimpses of the Moon might work with regard to the recreation commodification of water. We'll see.
1 comments:
Yay!
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