Negotiating (Im)migrant Identity in the (Un)Assimilated Nation: American Literature of the Late Nineteenth Century

Author

Haley M. SteffensFollow

Publication Date

Spring 5-16-2025

Abstract

This dissertation examines representations of immigration, assimilation, and multinational cultural identity in late nineteenth-century American literature, autobiography, and print culture. Through a comparative analysis of diverse authors and immigrant communities, the project explores how literary and popular culture narratives framed the expectations and limitations of assimilation for disparate populations. By contextualizing these works within historical immigration policies, labor economies, government instability, and burgeoning nationalism, this study reveals how fiction and media shaped public attitudes toward assimilation and influenced policy. Ultimately, this dissertation argues that late, long-nineteenth-century literature functioned as both a reflection of and response to national debates about immigration, exposing the tensions between Americanization and cultural persistence among diverse immigrant populations, as well as the structures of racialized capitalism and economic exploitation.

Degree Name

English

Level of Degree

Doctoral

Department Name

English

First Committee Member (Chair)

Kathryn Wichelns

Second Committee Member

Juliet Shields

Third Committee Member

Sarah Townsend

Fourth Committee Member

Jesus Costantino

Keywords

assimilation narratives, assimilation literature, immigrant literature, nineteenth century, American literature, American media

Document Type

Dissertation

Recommended Citation

Steffens, Haley M.. "Negotiating (Im)migrant Identity in the (Un)Assimilated Nation: American Literature of the Late Nineteenth Century." (2025). https://digitalrepository.unm.edu/engl_etds/423