Noble savage / Noble savage in literature (revision)

1. Revise:

sh85092148: Noble savage

CHANGE 150: Noble savage stereotype

ADD 450: $w nne $a Noble savage

550 $w g $a Ethnology $x Philosophy

REMOVE 550 $w g $a Primitivism in literature

ADD 550 $w g $a Primitivism

ADD 550: $w g $a Stereotypes (Social psychology)

ADD 670: Ellingson, Ter. Myth of the noble savage, 2001 $w (OCoLC)906845168

ADD 670: Rowland, M.J. “Return of the ‘noble savage’: misrepresenting the past, present and future.” Australian Aboriginal studies, vol. 2004, no. 2, 2004, via WWW, viewed August 10, 2020: $b (‘noble savage’ stereotype ; stereotypes of the ‘noble savage’ or ‘ecologically noble savage’ can in fact serve to oppress indigenous peoples; myth of the ‘noble savage’; noble savage myth)

ADD 670: Cultural Survival Quarterly Magazine WWW site, 19 January 2021 $b (In its first incarnation, the noble savage was a shorthand term for the idealized European vision of the inhabitants of the New World …  idealized the naked “savages” as innocent of sin)

ADD 670: Journal of Colonialism and Colonial History WWW site, 19 January 2021 $b (Marc Lescarbot, a seventeenth century French traveler originated the idea that Indians were “noble” as a way of diminishing the Native Americans’ legal claims to sovereignty and recognition. Lescarbot argued that as ancient innocents, comparable to the people described in the Greek myth of the golden age, America’s Natives had no legal standing. The “Noble Savage Myth” was revived—and debunked—by John Crawfurd and James Hunt, two scientific racists, in London in the 1850s. They established the “myth” to further their racist theories … the “myth” hampers popular understanding of Native American people and their communities)

ADD 670: Facing history and ourselves WWW site, 19 January 2021:  $b Stolen lives (Some Europeans, like the American painter George Catlin, looked at the Indigenous Peoples of North America as a representation of indigenous people before Western civilization developed: pure, bold, and noble beings. Such Europeans called the indigenous people they encountered “noble savages.”… By the middle of the nineteenth century, European policy makers became impatient with the slow progress of their plans to civilize indigenous groups who insisted on maintaining their traditions. This frustration was shown in yet another stereotype. Now, not only were the Indians savage: they were also known as wretched Indians.)

ADD 670: TeacherServe WWW site, 19 January 2021: $b American Indians: the image of the Indian (It is a given today that the idea of the American Indian has been historically significant. It shaped the attitudes of those in the nineteenth century who shaped Indian policy. Indian policy cannot be understood without an awareness of the ideas behind it. … Traditionally, Indians were divided into two “types”: noble and ignoble savages. The Indian woman was either a princess or a drudge, the Indian man an admirable brave or a fiendish warrior … The stark contrast between the noble and ignoble savage obscures their common denominator: savagery. Savagery referred to a state of social development below civilization and, in some calculations, below an intermediate step, barbarism. Since savagery was inferior to civilization, the reasoning went; a savage was naturally inferior to a civilized person. The noble savage might be admired for certain rude virtues, and the ignoble savage deplored as brutal and bloody-minded, but the fate of each was identical. In time, both would vanish from the face of the earth as civilization, in accordance with the universal law of progress, displaced savagery … In confronting white civilization, the reasoning went, Indians lost their savage virtues—independence, hospitality, courage—while retaining only their savage vices; worse yet, they added civilization’s vices to the mixture, ignoring civilization’s virtues)

Add 670: Wikipedia, viewed September 14, 2020: $b (noble savage; literary stock character who embodies the concept of the indigene, outsider, wild human, an “other” who has not been “corrupted” by civilization, and therefore symbolizes humanity’s innate goodness. Besides appearing in many works of fiction and philosophy, the stereotype was also heavily employed in early anthropological works. The “noble savage” often maps to uncorrupted races in science fiction and fantasy genres.)

Add 680 $i Here are entered works on the concept of indigenous people who have not been corrupted by civilization; this trope can be used to represent humanity’s innate goodness but can also be used to this trope can be used to idealize humanity as innately good but can also be used to stereotype indigenous peoples as uncivilized or primitive. (THIS NEEDS WORK)

952 LC Pattern: Strong black woman stereotype; Model minority stereotype

2. Revise:

sh94006954: Noble savage in literature

CHANGE 150: Noble savage stereotype in literature

ADD 450: $w nne $a Noble savage

ADD 550: $a Indigenous peoples in literature

ADD 550:  $w g $a Primitivism in literature

ADD 550: $w g $a Stereotypes (Social psychology) in literature

Comments:

This is based on a thread on DCRM-L, August 7, 2020 under subject “Help with problem subject heading.” and a discussion on the Troublesome Catalogers Facebook group.  Most other named stock character types or stereotypes like this that I can think of don’t seem to be established in LCSH, and these two don’t currently have any source citations (670s) in the LCSH records to support them.

Recent editorial decisions rejecting the proposed headings Toxic masculinity and White fragility suggest that not all named concepts in common usage related to negative traits ascribed to a race or gender are appropriate for LCSH; these concepts are not necessarily “stereotypes,” however.  In contrast,  LCSH contains two headings for stereotypes that ascribe a supposedly positive trait to a group of people while still being a harmful racist and/or sexist stereotype (Strong black woman stereotype; Model minority stereotype).  Noble savage stereotype seems to follow the latter pattern.

So, perhaps entirely different terminology could replace this phrase, or these terms can be cancelled and replaced with some combination of existing LCSH(s) that convey the concept, e.g. Indigenous peoples, and Stereotypes (Social psychology). Or, if there is remaining literary warrant for these terms as established, I wonder if some combination of the following might at least help contextualize the terms:

1. Revise the 150s to identify “Noble savage” as a stereotype more explicitly, using a few existing LCSH as a pattern (Strong black woman stereotype; Model minority stereotype). (Add those to the proposal as 952 LC Pattern) Another possible model is the equivalent term in the French authority file which includes a parenthetical qualifier: Bon sauvage (philosophie). 
2.  Add 670 citations to support usage/literary warrant and provide context
3.  Add 680 Scope note?
4.  Add 450 $w nne for the former terms.
5. Add 550 RT/BTs to contextualize these in relation to other headings about stereotypes, indigenous peoples, etc.
6.  It also seems the BT Primitivism in literature on Noble savage applies better as a BT for Noble savage in literature and maybe could be moved there and replaced with the BT Primitivism. Since, like most stereotypes/tropes, they exist outside of literature as a stereotype in art, motion pictures, television, etc., and also as an anthropological/sociological concept and a prejudice held and experienced by people in the real world.  Or else, remove these references entirely and/or revise those terms as well (see next point).
7. Maybe relate or combine with this revision proposal for Primitive societies, and related terms, and/or also revise Primitivism and Primitivism in literature, and adjust the 550s above accordingly?
8. Does this account for identified usage of this trope in literature, film, etc. depicting fictional extra-terrestrials, non-human beings, etc. in a similar fashion? (https://www.npr.org/sections/13.7/2009/12/avatar_movie_post.html)