This seminar is held at Antiquarian Hall, 185 Salisbury Street, Worcester, Massachusetts
American Antiquarian Society
185 Salisbury Street
Worcester, MA 01609
United States
Who in the twenty-first-century reads newspapers and journals for poetic inspiration? Yet in the nineteenth-century, newspapers and magazines featured poems covering a wide variety of topics: labor, fashion, abolition, temperance, war, women’s rights, death, love, nature, religion, and more. In this year's American Studies Seminar, students will examine poetry in nineteenth-century periodicals and other forms of mass printing (broadsides, chapbooks, compilations). They will explore what these poems tell us about popular print media over time; how editors positioned poetry in their publications; how poetry was used to influence readers; which authors appeared most prominently and to what effect. In a workshop setting, students have an opportunity to interact with numerous archival materials, produce significant research projects, and experiment with poems of their own. There are no prerequisites.
When and Where
The seminar will meet during the Fall 2025 semester on Thursday afternoons, from 2-4 p.m., at the American Antiquarian Society, 185 Salisbury Street, Worcester, Massachusetts. The first class will be held on Thursday, September 4, 2025.
Eligibility and Application
The seminar welcomes applications from students enrolled at one of the five participating institutions whose academic record, personal statement, and letter of recommendation indicate a commitment to academic excellence, the ability to work independently, and a sincere interest in the seminar’s subject matter. The theme and leader of each year's American Studies Seminar change, but all provide a rare opportunity for undergraduates enrolled at one of the five participating institutions to do primary, in-person research in a major research library.
Eligible students may contact one of the faculty representatives listed below for more information.
Admission to the seminar is coordinated by the following faculty representatives on each of the five participating campuses:
- Assumption University: John F. Bell, jf.bell [at] assumption.edu (jf[dot]bell[at]assumption[dot]edu)
- Clark University: Meredith Neuman, meneuman [at] clark.edu (meneuman[at]clark[dot]edu)
- College of the Holy Cross: Gwenn Miller, gmiller [at] holycross.edu (gmiller[at]holycross[dot]edu)
- Worcester Polytechnic Institute: Prof. Steven C. Bullock, HUA, sbullock [at] wpi.edu (sbullock[at]wpi[dot]edu)
- Worcester State University: Alison Okuda, thangen [at] worcester.edu (aokuda[at]worcester[dot]edu)
About the Seminar Leader
Wyn Kelley, senior lecturer in the literature faculty at the Massachusetts Institute for Technology, has published academic research on nineteenth-century authors, and also has considerable experience in print and digital editing. As a recent National Endowment for the Humanities Fellow (2023-24) at AAS, she commenced new work on Frances E. W. Harper and her writing in The Anglo-African Magazine. In that project and other recent scholarship, she has been particularly interested in the presence of Brazilian stories of enslavement and freedom in United States print culture.