Paul Otto, 2015–2016 | National Humanities Center

Paul Otto (NHC Fellow, 2015–16)

Project Title

Beads of Power: Wampum and the Shaping of Early America

George Fox University

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Fellowship Work Summary, 2015–16

Paul Otto drafted substantial portions of seven chapters for Beads of Power: Wampum and the Making of Early America. He also wrote two articles: the first, “‘This is that which they call Wampum’: Europeans Coming to Terms with Native American Shell Beads,” for publication by the Early American Studies Journal (Winter, 2017); the second, “‘Finest Parcel of Wampum Ever’: Supplying Demand on the American Frontier,” is being revised as he seeks a publisher. He also began work on a new project, “The Collision of Old and New Worlds: A Translation of the Grotius-De Debate on Native American Origins.”