Colonizing the Mind: The Library as a Site for Colonial American Identity Formation

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dc.contributor.authorCook, Emily Katherineen
dc.contributor.committeechairShifflett, Crandall A.en
dc.contributor.committeememberEkirch, A. Rogeren
dc.contributor.committeememberPurcell, Aaron D.en
dc.contributor.departmentHistoryen
dc.date.accessioned2014-03-14T20:33:23Zen
dc.date.adate2009-06-10en
dc.date.available2014-03-14T20:33:23Zen
dc.date.issued2009-04-02en
dc.date.rdate2012-08-07en
dc.date.sdate2009-04-12en
dc.description.abstractThe Library Company of Philadelphia, founded in 1731 by Benjamin Franklin and his Junto, served as the impetus for society libraries across colonial America. While inspiring ubiquitous learning, the Library Company also reinforced the English language in linguistically diverse Philadelphia. Furthermore, the Company emblematically displayed ownership of a new land and developed an idealized concept of what it meant to be a Pennsylvanian society through their cabinet of curiosities—all while cultivating the organization's reputation within the colonial press. The Library Company, therefore, utilized language and material/visual culture to navigate individual and community identity in a decidedly unstructured atmosphere—the period shortly before the complete onset of American nationalism. The process of "becoming American," the development of an identity tied to a specific location that emphases class mobility and self creation while also differentiating itself from other societies, is enumerated through the study of these linguistic and cultural manipulations.en
dc.description.degreeMaster of Artsen
dc.identifier.otheretd-04122009-231335en
dc.identifier.sourceurlhttp://scholar.lib.vt.edu/theses/available/etd-04122009-231335/en
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10919/31693en
dc.publisherVirginia Techen
dc.relation.haspartcompositethesisii.pdfen
dc.rightsIn Copyrighten
dc.rights.urihttp://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/en
dc.subjectLibrary Companyen
dc.subjectColonial Librariesen
dc.subjectbecoming Americanen
dc.subjectPhiladelphiaen
dc.titleColonizing the Mind: The Library as a Site for Colonial American Identity Formationen
dc.typeThesisen
thesis.degree.disciplineHistoryen
thesis.degree.grantorVirginia Polytechnic Institute and State Universityen
thesis.degree.levelmastersen
thesis.degree.nameMaster of Artsen

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