Even though he is a professor of literature by trade, 葫芦影业鈥檚 Douglas Dowland, Ph.D., is no novice to the drama of American politics. His first book, 鈥Weak Nationalisms,鈥 explored how authors attempted to sidestep national divides by writing stories of America that speak to many. His most recent book, 鈥We, Us, and Them,鈥 published by the University of Virginia Press earlier this year, took the opposite approach, to study how some stories of America spark anger and division.
鈥淲hat鈥檚 fascinating to me about the American story is how it is an intense one to so many,鈥 Dowland said. 鈥淲hen someone describes America in a way we like 鈥 or don鈥檛 like 鈥 we feel it in our bones.鈥
鈥We, Us, and Them鈥 studies such writing and its effects from the Vietnam War to the rise of Donald Trump. One of the authors Dowland studies is Ohio Senator 鈥 and now Vice-Presidential candidate 鈥 J.D. Vance, in particular, how Vance peppered his classic memoir 鈥Hillbilly Elegy鈥 with a 鈥渨e鈥 of rust-belt Americans at odds with a 鈥渢hem鈥 of the coasts.
鈥淲hat I find fascinating is how Vance positions himself as an outsider, though he is also very much an insider,鈥 Dowland comments. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 what a rags-to-riches story like 鈥Hillbilly Elegy鈥 does.鈥澛
What is unique about the vice-presidential candidate鈥檚 rags-to-riches story is its persistent theme of resentment. 鈥淧ick any character in the memoir: they have a resentment. Pick any part of America that Vance describes: it brims with resentment,鈥 Dowland writes. 鈥淭o me, that鈥檚 the promise and the problem of the book: at some points we nod our heads in agreement with Vance, and at other times, we shake our heads in disapproval.鈥澛
It was in this emotionally powerful way, Dowland argues, that Vance was able to become an object of fascination鈥攆irst by professors and the press upon the publication of 鈥Hillbilly Elegy,鈥 and later by the general public when Vance鈥檚 book was turned into a film, and ultimately, his election as a senator.聽
Dowland's book also explores works by other American authors, including John Steinbeck, Hunter S. Thompson, and James Baldwin.