The Daughter's Labors: Susan Fenimore Cooper's Legacy for America

FAIN: FT-57383-10

Rochelle Johnson
College of Idaho (Caldwell, ID 83605-4432)

I seek support for my work toward the completion of a book-length biography of Susan Fenimore Cooper (1813-1894). Cooper was a novelist, essayist, and diarist, as well as a serious enough practitioner of natural history that her work in that area was noticed by such experts as Louis Agassiz and Charles Darwin. She was also the daughter and literary executor of a world-famous author (James Fenimore Cooper); a tireless philanthropist; and an environmental advocate who issued prescient warnings concerning forest preservation and the threat of invasive species. Her life challenges many prevalent notions about how a single woman in nineteenth-century America could contribute to shaping her culture. A biography of Cooper will contribute to studies in literary domesticity, literary history, and the history of landscape preservation efforts in the United States.

Associated Products

Susan Fenimore Cooper’s "Missions to the Oneidas" and the Integration of Memory and Matter (Conference Paper/Presentation)
Title: Susan Fenimore Cooper’s "Missions to the Oneidas" and the Integration of Memory and Matter
Author: Rochelle Johnson
Abstract: Paper presented at the Modern Language Association meeting, Vancouver B.C., January 8-11, 2015.
Date: 01/09/2015
Conference Name: Modern Language Association

The Messy Nexus of Racism, Religion, and Philanthropy: Representing Susan Fenimore Cooper’s Labors (Conference Paper/Presentation)
Title: The Messy Nexus of Racism, Religion, and Philanthropy: Representing Susan Fenimore Cooper’s Labors
Author: Rochelle Johnson
Abstract: paper presented at the ALA (American Literature Association) annual meeting, San Francisco, May 24-27, 2012.
Date: 05/25/2012
Conference Name: American Literature Association Annual Meeting

Toward "An Inheritance Incorruptible": Susan Fenimore Cooper’s Post-Colonial Ecology (Conference Paper/Presentation)
Title: Toward "An Inheritance Incorruptible": Susan Fenimore Cooper’s Post-Colonial Ecology
Author: Rochelle Johnson
Abstract: paper presented at the Pacific Ancient and Modern Language Association (PAMLA) annual meeting, Scripps College, Claremont, CA, November 5-6, 2011.
Date: 11/05/2011
Conference Name: Pacific Ancient and Modern Language Association (PAMLA) Annual Meeting

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