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=BQC: Before the Quad Cities= =An Ongoing Collaborative "Prehistory" of the Quad Cities=

//Around 1750 the Sauk Nation settled near the confluence of the Rock and Mississippi Rivers. Around 1950, the "Tri-Cities" of Davenport, Moline, and Rock Island added East Moline and reintroduced themselves to the world as "The Quad Cities." BQC is an ongoing collaborative history of these two centuries of settlement "before the Quad Cities."//

BQC is written by students enrolled in undergraduate courses at Western Illinois University-Quad Cities and is coordinated by Dr. Daniel S. Malachuk. The aim of this digital humanities project is to provide students with experience in developing brief, useful reports featuring primary sources either not yet on the web or available only via Google Books or similar web resources. Because these reports are written in support of an eclectic set of (primarily) English courses, the cumulative result will never be a comprehensive history of the QC. Instead, we offer here ongoing investigations of various areas of the QC's rich "prehistory." We appreciate the continued support of local libraries, archives, and museums including: > Rock Island County Historical Society > Here also are some useful sources recommended by students available on Google Books and similar websites. And here is more on the history of the BQC itself. Please send comments and suggestions to Dr. Malachuk at ds-malachuk at wiu dot edu
 * Bettendorf Public Library
 * Davenport Public Library Special Collections
 * Geneseo Historical Museum
 * Moline Public Library
 * Rock Island Public Library
 * [|WIU Archives & Special Collections]


 * Report Areas**
 * The Rivers ||
 * Native Americans ||
 * "Wild Liberty" ||
 * The Underground Railroad and Anti-Slavery ||
 * Transcendentalism in the QCA ||
 * Fort Armstrong and the Rock Island Prison Barracks ||
 * The 108th Regiment of the U.S. Colored Troops ||
 * Feminism and Women Before the QC ||
 * Early Conservation and Agriculture ||
 * African Americans in the Postbellum QCA ||
 * Susan Glaspell and Other Local Authors ||
 * Utopian Communities ||
 * Painters and Other Artists ||
 * European Settlers ||
 * Religion in the QCA ||
 * Other People and Places ||
 * Gardens, Parks, and Other Green Places ||
 * Food ||
 * Popular Music ||
 * Popular Music ||


 * Guidelines for Student Contributors**


 * Aspirations**