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Dissertation Information for Ernest Frithiof Freeberg

NAME:
- Ernest Frithiof Freeberg

DEGREE:
- Ph.D.

DISCIPLINE:
- History

SCHOOL:
- Emory University (USA) (1995)

ADVISORS:
- Jonathan Prude

COMMITTEE MEMBERS:
- Patrick N. Allitt

MPACT Status: Incomplete - Inspected

Title: The education of Laura Bridgman: Human nature and social reform in antebellum New England

Abstract: This dissertation explores Dr. Samuel Gridley Howe's education of Laura Bridgman, the first deaf and blind person ever to be taught language. In the mid-19th century, this young girl became one of the most famous women in the world, captivating the imagination of a vast public. While the press hailed her as proof of the miraculous power of education, some of the era's most important philosophers, scientists, educators and theologians debated the true meaning of Dr. Howe's "experiment." Howe argued that her progress proved his own liberal, Unitarian view of human nature. Boston's powerful orthodox community disagreed, denouncing him as a case of "the blind leading the blind."

The subsequent rhetorical battle over the nature of Laura Bridgman's soul reveals much about broader antebellum controversies over issues such as the origin of language, gender differences, child psychology, the nature of the conscience, and the source of religious truth. These debates offer insight into the way these reformers attempted to revise their society's understanding of human nature, as part of their effort to make prisons and insane asylums more humane, schools more efficient, and religion more optimistic.

Dr. Howe eventually grew disillusioned with his famous experiment, and adopted a more pessimistic, hereditarian theory of human nature. As the author of the most important American manual on heredity prior to Darwin, Howe's intellectual journey reflects a broader transition in 19th-century American ideas about human nature, from romantic optimism toward biological materialism.

MPACT Scores for Ernest Frithiof Freeberg

A = 0
C = 0
A+C = 0
T = 0
G = 0
W = 0
TD = 0
TA = 0
calculated 2008-04-07 11:52:55

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Students under Ernest Frithiof Freeberg

ADVISEES:
- None

COMMITTEESHIPS:
- None