Enduring Pastoral

Has the pastoral vision, so central to American history and culture, survived the twentieth century? Enduring Pastoral traces and analyzes the development of the middle landscape by examining the historical construction of a variety of private and public places in the Tennessee Valley. Moving from the aesthetically sculpted grounds of the Biltmore Estate and the environmental transformation undertaken by the Tennessee Valley Authority, to the adoption of the pastoral trope in Appalachian museums, the displays at the Chattanooga Choo Choo, and Dolly Parton’s theme park Dollywood, Enduring Pastoral shows how the pastoral design has been simulated and commercialized for economic and political purposes. Showing how this process has disconnected the pastoral from its Jeffersonian and Thoreauvian roots, Enduring Pastoral proposes that when facing the environmental challenges of the twenty-first century, new forms of pastoralism may ultimately prove vital to integrating nature and culture in a sustainable future.