Elizabeth Lorang

Drawing on current trends in the field of book history, this dissertation is the first literary study of nineteenth-century American newspaper poetry. It utilizes media theory and electronic text analysis to examine the cultural work of newspaper poetry and argues that scholars must evaluate these poems based on their own generic qualities rather than by aesthetic or cultural values tied to other forms. In viewing these poems as participatory in the goals of the American newspaper—perhaps the most important mediator of American ideals and experiences during the century—this project recovers the cultural significance of a major body of nineteenth-century literature, including the work of prolific women and minority writers whose works appeared in newspapers published across the country.

The Genoa Indian School Digital Reconciliation Project seeks an ACLS Digital Justice Development Grant in the amount of $98,327 for an 18-month project titled, “Honoring Indigenous Community Knowledge: Expanding the Genoa Indian School Digital Reconciliation Project Beyond the Government Archive.” To date, the Genoa Project has published nearly 3,000 government records, with work underway to publish several thousand additional documents. Building from this work, we request funding to begin a next major phase of our work, supporting descendant communities in telling more complete stories of Genoa through the development of a digital oral history and community knowledge program.