The News Media and the Making of America, 1730-1865

FAIN: ES-50562-14

American Antiquarian Society (Worcester, MA 01609-1634)
James David Moran (Project Director: March 2014 to June 2016)

A two-week institute for twenty-five school teachers on the role of news media and communication in early America.

What's the News? The "Media" and the Making of America, 1730-1865 is a two-week summer institute for K-12 educators that will take place at the American Antiquarian Society. The Institute is a colloquium and hands-on workshop whose main theme is the function of news and public information in the community life of America, from the colonial period through the Civil War. Readings, discussions, and workshops will explore the diverse and changing milieu of communication forms and technologies. In general, the aim is to understand the role of communication, especially print media, in the political, social, and cultural life of the American people in an era of rapid change in politics, business, and technology. We want to explore how news and public information - in all its various forms - is connected to civic engagement and how media fit into the public and private lives of the American people.