Panel: Interactions between German and English Print Cultures in Eighteenth-Century America

In his latest book, "Becoming America: the revolution before 1776," historian Jon Butler ascertained the ethnic, religious, and political diversity of eighteenth-century American society as its most conspicuous quality. This panel approaches the stunning pluralism of colonial America through the manifold and complex interactions between German and Anglo-American print cultures.

Throughout the eighteenth century, German and English printers such as Christoph Saur and Benjamin Franklin issued a variety of popular publications, including newspapers, almanacs, pamphlets, and religious tracts. Presenters on this panel may examine how these publications both enforced and mediated disparate spiritual, political, and social sensibilities. In what way did the printing presses and their publications cause or erase frictions between English and German immigrant groups? Where did print culture maintain transatlantic ties, and where did it break down ethnic divisions in order to forge distinctly colonial identities?

Papers may examine the general role of print culture in the interaction between German and English immigrant groups, focus on individual genres such as religious tracts and political pamphlets, or discuss the treatment of specific issues and events across ethnic boundaries. Interdisciplinary approaches are especially encouraged.

Please mail or e-mail 1-2 page proposals by September 15 to Patrick Erben at the address below.