ERIC Number: ED200458
Record Type: RIE
Publication Date: 1979-Jan-25
Reference Count: 0
Samuel Eliot Morison: The Man, the Historian, the Literary Artist and the Educator.
Seeking to augment previous accounts of Samuel Eliot Morison's life (1887-1976), the document considers Morison not only as historian and literary artist but also as educator. A prolific writer, Morison's main interest was naval history and his books, "Admiral of the Ocean Seas: A Life of Christopher Columbus" (1942) and "John Paul Jones: A Sailor's Biography" (1959) won him Pulitzer Prizes. However, he also authored histories of the United States. Morison considered the major qualities of an historian to be intellectual honesty, balance, and skepticism. His writing nonetheless reflected prejudiced accounts of slavery and the Cold War. Furthermore, his socioeconomic interpretations were sometimes weak because he did not apply social science methodology to his work, and in this respect he differs from his contemporaries. Morison's concern was that his work would attract both general and specific audiences; he was disturbed by the loss of literary style when the history discipline became professionalized. The segment of Morison's life that is most overlooked by historians is his teaching career, although it contributed to his excellence in historical research and writing. He saw parallels between motivating students and readers. He believed that constant research was vital to quality instruction and often published his findings. (Author/KC)
Publication Type: Dissertations/Theses - Masters Theses
Education Level: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers: Morison (Samuel Eliot)
Note: Master's Thesis, Hunter College, The City University of New York.