Publisher's Synopsis
Managing Literacy, Mothering America accomplishes two monumental tasks. It identifies and defines a previously unstudied genre, the domestic literacy narrative, and provides a pioneering cultural history of this genre from the early days of the United States through the turn of the twentieth century. Domestic literacy narratives often depict women - mostly middle-class mothers - teaching those in their care to read, write, and discuss literature, with the goal of promoting civic participation. Authors of these works imagined their readers as contributing to the ongoing formation of an idealized American community. Sarah Robbins offers close readings of texts that include influential British precursors to the genre and early twentieth-century narratives by women missionaries that have been previously undervalued by cultural historians. She also examines texts by prominent authors that have received little critical attention to date - such as Lydia Maria Child's ""Good Wives"" - and provides fresh context when discussing the well-known works of the period. ""Managing Literacy, Mothering America"" is a groundbreaking exploration of nineteenth-century U.S. culture, viewed through the lens of a literary practice that promoted women's public influence on social issues and agendas.
