"Languages for America": Dialects, Race, and National Identity in Nineteenth-century American Literature

"Languages for America" is Dr. White's final dissertation project in which he explores the creation of an American national identity through the works of various political pundits and satirists. This work uncovers the rich history of nonstandard languages in nineteenth-century American literature and the many strands of humor used to diffuse tense political debates. From the early European settlement of the American continent to questions of race at the turn of the twentieth-century, "Languages for America" asks what it means to "speak American" and who determines what the American language should sound like and how it should appear in written form.