Psychology Department Histories

-Contributed by Emily Gainer.

Interested in learning about the history of a particular psychology department in the United States?  We might have just the thing for you: The CHP Psychology Department Histories Collection.

The collection is comprised of departmental histories, some casual and some formal, some lengthy and some brief. Some are written as in-depth research papers, while others are more reminiscences in the form of correspondence.  Although each written history is different, they generally document how the psychology department developed within the university, how it fit into the academic structure, and who was in the department and what role they played. Currently, the finding aid lists 56 psychology departments around the United States.

The psychology department histories vary in their form and depth. This file for Clark University contains only correspondence

The history for Johns Hopkins University contains research papers, as well as correspondence

Some notable psychology departments in the collection include: Brown University, Clark University, Johns Hopkins University, Iowa State University, the New School for Social Research, and Oberlin College.

The Psychology Department Histories Collection compliments other CHP collections. For example, researchers interested in Clark University might also be interested in this photograph, taken at the Clark Conference in 1909. It depicts A.A. Brill, Ernest       Jones, and Sandor Ferenczi (back row); Sigmund Freud, G. Stanley Hall, and Carl Jung (front row).

Many of the histories compliment other CHP collections as well, including manuscripts and apparatus.  Browse or search through the CHP digital Repository for more resources.

The CHP continues to collect psychology department histories, so check the finding aid for additions.

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Introducing Rodrigo Miranda

-Contributed by Rodrigo Miranda

The CHP is happy to welcome Rodrigo Miranda to Akron. Rodrigo will be doing research at the CHP for the next eight months. Rodrigo’s stay in Akron is part of a “scholar swap” between the Center for the History of Psychology at The University of Akron and the Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais in Brazil.

Hi everybody. My name is Rodrigo Miranda. I am a Brazilian PhD candidate at the School of Education (Faculdade de Educação) of the Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (UFMG). My Brazilian hometown is called Belo Horizonte (literally “Beautiful Horizon”) and it is located in the Minas Gerais State.

I have just arrived in Akron for an eight-month studying period at the Center for the History of Psychology. I am at the CHP during my Sandwich PhD period. This is a period of time in which the Brazilian PhD candidate travels abroad for learning in another university. This was made possible by an agreement signed between UFMG and The University of Akron (UA). Thank you Prof. David Baker (UA) and Prof. Sergio Cirino (UFMG)!

During this eight-month period I am researching experimental psychology laboratories in the United States in the CHP Archives and writing my PhD dissertation as well. I would like to learn everything I can and also  contribute to CHP activities.

In the last five years I have been researching two main subjects: (1) the history of experimental psychology in Brazil during the 20^th century; and (2) the history of teaching psychology in Brazil in the same period (i.e. Cirino, Miranda, & Souza Jr., 2012 and Cirino, Miranda, & Cruz, 2012). My main focus is the role played by the laboratory in research, and the professionalization and the teaching of psychology in Brazil. This is part of the agenda developed in the Laboratory of Psychology and Education Helena Antipoff (LAPED – Laboratório de Psicologia e Educação Helena Antipoff) of UFMG.

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Book of the Month

-Contributed by Emily Gainer & Rhonda Rinehart.

Welcome to the first installment of Book of the Month!  The CHP is excited to launch a Book of the Month feature that spotlights our special collections. The selection might be rare, have a special story, or be important to the history of psychology.  Whatever the case, the selection will be interesting and generate discussion!  Check back at the first of each month for the next title.

February’s spotlight is on The Elements of Mental and Moral Philosophy, Founded upon Experience, Reason, and the Bible by Catharine Esther Beecher.  The CHP copy of Elements was digitized in partnership with the American Psychological Association and is available online in the Repository.

The title page of Beecher’s Elements (1831). Notice the scratched out text above the Roman numerals.

Printed in 1831, Beecher’s Elements is a work of substantial importance to historians of philosophy and psychology. It is one of the first philosophical works to use a psychological analysis to understand theological issues, and it is considered the first psychological treatise written by an American woman. Catharine Beecher, an early educational reformer who lobbied for the employment of women in the education system, wrote Elements for her students at the Hartford Female Seminary.

This particular work is extremely rare. At a time when female authors, particularly on these subjects, were almost non-existent, Beecher was not confident about the book’s reception, so she had it printed, bound and then erased her name from the title page (see photographs above and below).

Back of the title page of Beecher’s Elements (1831). All author identification was erased from the book.

She sent it to a few select critics, and the reviews she received were indeed quite critical; she consequently withdrew the book from circulation and it was never officially published or sold. The World Catalog lists only fourteen other copies of the book in existence. Dr. Robert Wozniak, who has authored six books and more than 25 articles on the history of psychology, has described Elements as “one of the very rarest books in the history of American psychology” (Wozniak, R.H. Mind and Body: René Descartes to William James.)

CHP’s copy of Elements was repaired through an IMLS American Heritage preservation grant in 2010.

Conservators at the Intermuseum Conservation Association repaired the spine to ensure long-term preservation of the book.

Of the 21 published works authored by Beecher, CHP has three: Common sense applied to religion, or, The Bible and the people, 1857; Letters to the people on health and happiness, 1856; Physiology and calisthenics for schools and families, 1856.

What’s a Book of the Month without some discussion?  Feel free to discuss the book, the author, the history, etc. in the comments section below.

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