'The World of Books in Early America'

Release date: April 27, 2011

Goucher College's Friends of the Library will present "The World of Books in Early America,"a lecture by Assistant Professor of History Matthew Rainbow Hale, on Wednesday, April 27, at 7 p.m. in the Batza Room of the Athenaeum.

This event is free and open to the public. For more information, contact Peter McCarthy at peter.mccarthy@goucher.edu or 410-337-6362.

Early Americans used printed materials in ways that reflected particular cultural traditions. From Puritan notions of spirituality to Native Americans' belief in the shamanistic qualities of books, and from Benjamin Franklin's faith in newspapers to Thomas Jefferson's advocacy of natural language, a wide range of ideas about the meaning of the printed word operated in the years leading to 1776. Examining those ideas — and the practices associated with them — reveals much about the world of books in early America.

Hale's areas of expertise include early American history, Atlantic revolutions, and print culture. He won the Ralph D. Gray Prize for his Journal of the Early Republic article titled "On Their Tiptoes: Political Time and Newspapers during the Advent of the Radicalized French Revolution, circa 1792-1793." His study of the French Revolution's impact on American political culture is forthcoming from the University of Virginia Press. 

The Friends of the Goucher College Library are alumnae/i, faculty, students, library staff, and others who enjoy a common bond: a passion for communicating the importance of the library within the intellectual setting of Goucher College. The Friends present a variety of programs and events, as well as serve as advocates for the library.

Media Contact
Kristen Pinheiro
Media Relations Director
kristen.pinheiro@goucher.edu
410-337-6316