Reading the Nineteenth-Century Paper Mill, Ilinca Iurascu, University of British Columbia
The nineteenth-century paper mill has rarely been discussed as a cultural space in its own right, despite its relevance for critical debates concerning the materialities of literature. Especially after 1850, its significance as a technological infrastructure, labor collective, and literary subject drastically shifts. Via a series of fictional works, legal documents, and instructional manuals, my essay will examine this cultural transformation and situate it within the broader landscape of nineteenth-century paper history and media studies.