A West Virginia University English professor has written a book praising the efforts of Native American writers in the 19th century to debunk many of the emotional myths surrounding American Indians during that time.

Dr. Cari Carpenters book,Seeing Red: Anger, Sentimentality and American Indians,is slated to be published next year by The Ohio State University Press.

Sentimentality was often used as a literary device by Native American authors to tear down the prevailing stereotypes of the American Indian as either stoic or savage, Carpenter writes.

Carpenter earned degrees in English and psychology from the University of Colorado at Boulder and earned a dual-doctorate in English and Womens Studies at the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor.

She was also a Mellon Postdoctoral Teaching Fellow at Kalamazoo College and has authored several articles on early American Indian women writers and feminist pedagogy.

Dr. Carpenter is a tremendous asset,said Dr. Bonnie Brown, coordinator of WVU s Native American Studies Program, part of the Eberly College of Arts and Sciences.Our students consistently tell me how much theyve benefited from her courses.

For more information on the book, contact Carpenter at cari.carpenter@mail.wvu.edu or 304-293-3107, ext. 33411.