Chapter 7, "The Madness of John Brown" pp. 150 - 175
Grand theories such as Frederick Jackson Turner's Frontier theory try to explain historical events by relating them to larger cultural factors. Psychohistory, on the other hand, looks inward to uncover explanations for human behavior. The organization of this chapter varies a bit from some of those we've investigated to date. We begin with a bare-bones outline of the event itself: the raid on Harper's Ferry. Then we proceed to look at contemporary explanations of Brown's behavior, including those which diagnosed him as "mad". Finally, we look at more general psychological theories to uncover clues to Brown's behavior. You'll note that most psychohistorians take the theories of Sigmund Freud for their jumping off place. Consequently, they look to Brown's own family history for clues to his behavior in the public arena. How convincing do you find the story they weave?
As one might imagine, controversy around the legitimacy of applying psychoanalytic theory to history is fierce and ongoing. Few persons are trained in both disciplines, leading to charges of "amateurism" being levelled at researchers using psychohistory as a framework for historical reconstruction.
Madman or not, Brown achieved celebrity status to the point where photographic mementos were in high demand. This one is signed, "Affectionately Yours, John Brown
Samples of psychohistorical writing can be found at The Journal of Psychohistory by clicking on the logo to the right.A critic of the field can be found by clicking on theillustration below.
Read the review, Shrinking History of David Stannard's On Freud and the Failure of Psychohistory, By clicking the reading child. Then browse the website of the Institute for Psychohistory by clicking on the globe in analysis above. Clicking the "next" button several times will give you a sense of the field--perhaps not enough to answer the question at the top of this page...but a start towards an answer, anyhow.
For Wednesday, February 13
To Accommodate the length of the film, Madness of George III, we're reversing the classes this wednesday. "Lab" will happen during the normal class time, and "class" will happen during the normal Lab time.
To facilitate the lab activities, please bring your laptop with you if you have one.
Professor Swanson will sort out the course assignments for the Bibliography Assignment and also assist anyone with estabilishing a MURL public account who needs the assistance.
We teased you a few weeks ago, suggesting that a recent scientific discovery throws new light on the question of George III's alleged "Madness". From the BBC:
Last year a remarkable exhibit came to light. Hidden in the vaults of a London museum was a scrap of paper containing a few strands of hair.
The paper was crudely fashioned into an
envelope but the words on it immediately
caused a stir: "Hair of His Late Majesty,
King George 3rd."
"King George III does some very odd things, but then who is to argue with the king? Well, his ambitious son, for one. He's not getting any younger, and all he does is sit around waiting for his father to die. So when the king starts behaving like a real madman, the Prince of Wales lobbies Parliament toassign him the power of prince regent. What ensues is a political struggle between the prime minister, a royalist, and the opposition party. In the meantime, the king is slowly being tortured by the strange practices of 18th-century medicine: He is bled regularly, and his feces are analyzed by all manner of doctors."...
Read, in Davidson: 
