Le Moyne College Calendar

Kerry Driscoll, Ph.D., professor of American literature at the University of St. Joseph in Hartford, Conn., will be speaking on Mark Twain's views about American Indians, with a particular focus on his representation of local New York tribes in an 1869 sketch called "Niagara." In this short piece, Twain imagines himself as a tourist on a trip to the Falls who comes "face to face with the Noble Red Man." "Niagara" showcases Twain’s ability to both satirize ethnic caricatures—in this case of both Native Americans and the Irish—and to reproduce them as well.

Dr. Driscoll is the author of Mark Twain Among the Indians and Other Indigenous Peoples, the first book-length study of the writer’s evolving views regarding the aboriginal inhabitants of North America and the Southern Hemisphere and his deeply conflicted representations of them in fiction, newspaper sketches, and speeches. Dr. Holly Rine, professor of Native American studies in the History department, will be responding.

This event will be held in Reilly Hall, Room 244.

Enjoy the essay at this site: http://www.gutenberg.org/files/3189/3189-h/3189-h.htm#niagara