Via Eighteenth Century Studies., Review of John Fea's The Way of Improvement Leads Home: Philip Vickers Fithian and the Rural Enlightenment in Early America. Reviewer notes Fea's primary claim that the Enlightenment was about self-improvement. "This gives an entirely different focus from those studies of rural American Enlightenment that address the question of modernity through agricultural improvement."
A study of the rise in popularity of radio in rural America in the 1920s and the portrayal of farmers in the press during this time. In the effort to promote the general value of radio, the press focused on how it was adopted by farmers. The media exaggerated the shortcomings of farm life, supporting the increasingly urban and modern way of life, and isolating and marginalizing rural dwellers.
Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 173 Document Number: C29275
Notes:
Via Nieman Watchdog. 5 pages., The Congressional stimulus packages "could mark a new, promising beginning - or they could be a new boondoggle for AT&T, Verizon and rural phone companies."
