Edward Zane Carroll Judson is the most popular and influential American novelist the public has never heard of. In the forty years between 1846-86, Judson, writing under his nautical pseudonym, Ned Buntline, massively influenced the publishing industry in America:
- his writing and publishing efforts spawned the dime-novel industry;
- his working-class promotional and political efforts made him a notorious “reformer”;
- his 175+ serialized stories helped create the mystery, crime noir, and Western genres;
- his polemical publishing produced the nativist “Know-Nothing” party of the 1850s;
- his pirate tales inspired Mark Twain — Tom Sawyer often reenacted their plots;
- and, his novels and promotional efforts turned William Cody into Buffalo Bill.
This non-traditional session will demonstrate how this forgotten American literary giant can be used as an essential teaching tool of 19th-century American cultural literary, and political history. It will draw on my decade of research on Judson’s life and teaching of Buntline novels, but it will largely be led by the students of my upper-level class that, during the course of the fall semester, will be digging deeply into the life of Judson and the influence of Buntline’s novels. They will demonstrate how this project-based class leads them through the process of reading, researching, editing, annotating, and ultimately re-publishing two of Buntline’s hugely popular but now forgotten novels – novels that illustrate, and thus teach them about, the political, racial, gender, and class issues surrounding the Mexican-American and American Civil Wars.
About the presentersMark Metzler Sawin
Mark is professor of history and director of the honors program at Eastern Mennonite University. His research interests include 19th-century cultural & literary history, and 21st-century issues of race and masculinity. He has a PHD in American Studies from the University of Texas and was a Fulbright scholar in Croatia.
Lindsay Acker
Lindsay is in her third year of studying Peacebuilding and Development at Eastern Mennonite University.
Solomon Brenneman
4th year History major at Eastern Mennonite University.
Lydia Chappell Deckert
student at eastern mennonite university
Ethan Scott Herman
I am a Computer Science student at Eastern Mennonite University.
Mario Hernàndez
Imports/Exports Vandelay Industries
Alexandra Warren
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Clara Weybright
Clara Weybright is an undergraduate junior studying at Eastern Mennonite University.
Kyle D. Good
Student at Eastern Mennonite University