Telegraphies: Indigeneity, Identity, and Nation in America's Nineteenth-Century Virtual Realm (Hardback)

Telegraphies is an impressive and important contribution to the fields of ethnic studies, American cultural studies, and nineteenth-century literary criticism. Kay Yandell presents a complex cultural, theoretical, and literary analysis of the nineteenth-century telegraph as a center of gravity for the discourse and anxiety surrounding agency, nation-building, communication, and belonging in America. What is more, Yandell does this free from dense jargon - in short, a well-researched, original perspective that was a pleasure to read. * Ernesto Javier Martinez, University of Oregon *
Kay Yandell's Telegraphies is a masterpiece of story-telling and scholarship. Departing from previous accounts that link telegraphy to a fractured modern consciousness, Yandell traces out telegraph literature's romantic aesthetics to illuminate its role in the creation of new oral traditions and cultural histories for European Americans seeking to create a sense of spiritual connection to this country. The nineteenth century virtual realm enabled by Samuel Morse's telegraph, Yandell suggests, was central to erasing the presence of America's Native peoples and usurping their storied connections to American land. A must for Americans and indigenous studies scholars alike! * Paula Moya, Stanford University *
Kay Yandell's new book constitutes a most impressive achievement. A welcome addition to rethinking relations among indigenous and U.S.-focused concepts of identity in the nineteenth century United States, Telegraphies considers traditional writers such as Nathaniel Hawthorne, Emily Dickinson, and Walt Whitman alongside concepts like cyborg feminism, the moccasin telegraph, the writings of Leslie Marmon Silko, and orators such as Plenty Coup and Pretty Shield. Meticulous research and phenomenal observations about transformations caused by the 'dot-dash' electrical conduits of the telegraph make this an essential book. * Shirley Samuels, Cornell University *