Fireside Chat - William James, American Influencer: History, Models, Challenges

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While contributing to the founding of American psychology and philosophy in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, William James (1842-1910) applied his insights to controversial public issues. Using lectures, essays, and letters to the editor, he was a social influencer of his day. He spoke out about the unfair treatment of alternative healthcare providers, the “lynching epidemic” oppressing African Americans, and the cruelties of American expansion. Dr. Paul Croce will be discussing how James’s achievements and his challenges present lessons for steering through the fraught differences of our own time.
Dr. Paul Croce is a Professor of History at Stetson University, where he researches and teaches American cultural and intellectual history. His prime academic research is on the life and work of William James, the founder of American psychology and pragmatism. Dr. Croce is the author of Young William James Thinking (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2017) and Science and Religion in the Era of William James (University of North Carolina Press, 1995). In addition, he has been president of the William James Society. His dozens of articles for newspapers and magazines on contemporary issues in politics and culture have been published widely, including at the Huffington Post, and they serve as a kind of public classroom. In fact, that is the name of his web page, "The Public Classroom"; see his opening essay, "Dreaming in Translation".