Title

Our Young Folks: A Content Analysis of an Influential Children’s Magazine in Nineteenth Century America

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

Department

Literature and Languages

Date of Award

Fall 2022

Abstract

Our Young Folks, An Illustrated Periodical for Boys and Girls was a children’s magazine published by Ticknor & Fields in 1865. It ran for nine years before being absorbed into another children’s magazine, St. Nicholas. Our Young Folks was a favorite of Theodore Roosevelt and maintained a high level of subscribers for most of its run. The contents of Our Young Folks include a variety of genres, including serialized novels, short fiction, non-fiction, games and puzzles, poems, music, and more. This thesis will detail the contents so that future researchers can more easily reference the periodical for their own academic studies. By situating this magazine within the greater context of children’s literature and periodical publishing in nineteenth-century America, researchers will be able to see its historical and societal value. Recognizing that periodicals are often cumbersome to read through in their entirety, this thesis intends to fill a gap of literary history by fully examining Our Young Folks and providing a guidepost for future research.

Advisor

Karen Roggenkamp

Subject Categories

Arts and Humanities | English Language and Literature

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