A literate South reading before emancipation / Beth Barton Schweiger.

Author/creator Schweiger, Beth Barton
Format Electronic
Publication InfoNew Haven : Yale University Press, [2019]
Descriptionxxiii, 258 pages : illustrations, facsimiles, map, portraits ; 25 cm
Supplemental ContentFull text available from Ebook Central - Academic Complete
Subjects
Literacy--Southern States. --History. --19th century.
Books and reading--Southern States. --History. --19th century.
White people--Books and reading. --Southern States. --History. --19th century.
Enslaved persons--Books and reading. --Southern States. --History. --19th century.
African Americans--Books and reading. --Southern States. --History. --19th century.
Authorship--History. --19th century.

Contents Introduction: The presence of print -- A good English education. Spellers ; Grammars ; Rhetorics -- A musical, literary, and Christian miscellany. Songs ; Stories ; Doctrines -- Epilogue. A literate South.
Abstract A pervasive assumption about the culture of the southern United States is that it is firmly rooted in an oral tradition, not a written one. Schweiger complicates our understanding of literacy and reading in the American South before emancipation by shedding light on literature's importance in helping the South preserve tradition, develop southern vernacular, and form a cultural identity. Schweiger explains how the "universal truth" of literacy's incompatibility with slavery hid readers in this region from their society and beyond, and obscured a rich literate tradition.
Bibliography noteIncludes bibliographical references (pages 205-243) and index.
Access restrictionAvailable only to authorized users.
Technical detailsMode of access: World Wide Web
Genre/formElectronic books.
LCCN 2018961530
ISBN9780300112535 hardcover alkaline paper
ISBN030011253X hardcover alkaline paper

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Electronic Resources Access Content Online ✔ Available