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The Most American Thing in America is a smart, lively book that brings to life a slice of the past now mostly forgotten and the rest of the time fogged in myth. Canning reminds us of the significant meaning that Chautauquas had for middle-class Americans at the turn of the twentieth century. Everyone from the philosopher William James to the philosopher Elvis Presley had a take on this classic cultural institution, and they're all covered in this fine work. --Kenneth Cmiel, professor of history, University of Iowa

Before radio and television transformed America, there was another medium of mass communication that broadcast live from coast to coast: Circuit Chautauqua. In The Most American Thing in America, Charlotte Canning tunes in on the remarkable variety of cultural perfor-mances that originated under the big tent of this nationally uplifting circus. --Joseph Roach, author of Cities of the Dead: Circum-Atlantic Performance The Most American Thing in America is a smart, lively book that brings to life a slice of the past now mostly forgotten and the rest of the time fogged in myth. Canning reminds us of the significant meaning that Chautauquas had for middle-class Americans at the turn of the twentieth century. Everyone from the philosopher William James to the philosopher Elvis Presley had a take on this classic cultural institution, and they're all covered in this fine work. --Kenneth Cmiel, professor of history, University of Iowa

""The Most American Thing in America is a smart, lively book that brings to life a slice of the past now mostly forgotten and the rest of the time fogged in myth. Canning reminds us of the significant meaning that Chautauquas had for middle-class Americans at the turn of the twentieth century. Everyone from the philosopher William James to the philosopher Elvis Presley had a take on this classic cultural institution, and they're all covered in this fine work.""--Kenneth Cmiel, professor of history, University of Iowa ""Before radio and television transformed America, there was another medium of mass communication that broadcast live from coast to coast: Circuit Chautauqua. In The Most American Thing in America, Charlotte Canning tunes in on the remarkable variety of cultural perfor-mances that originated under the big tent of this nationally uplifting circus.""--Joseph Roach, author of Cities of the Dead: Circum-Atlantic Performance

Author Information

Charlotte Canning is an associate professor in the Department of Theatre and Dance at the University of Texas at Austin. The author of Feminist Theaters in the U.S.A.: Staging Women's Experience, she has also published numerous articles on theatre history.

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