Sentimental Frauds

2011 ◽  
Vol 36 (01) ◽  
pp. 83-113
Author(s):  
Simon Stern
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Eighteenth Century ◽  
Book Club ◽  
The United States ◽  
Class Action ◽  
Sentimental Novel ◽  
Oprah's Book Club ◽  
Ongoing Concern ◽  
Literary Fraud

The 2006 class action against James Frey, concerning his fabrications in A Million Little Pieces, was the first suit of its kind in the United States. There is nothing new about false memoirs, so what can explain the lawsuit? When the book was promoted on “Oprah's Book Club,” viewers were invited to respond emotionally, and saw their responses as a form of testimony. Those responses produced a sense of betrayal and inauthenticity when Frey's falsehoods were revealed. This view finds support in the eighteenth‐century sentimental novel, which similarly linked readers' reactions to the author's emotional authenticity. Fraud was an ongoing concern for sentimental novelists, some of whom used elaborate editorial to ploys to disavow responsibility for the text, while others populated their novels with fraudulent characters, intended as foils for the protagonist. An investigation of these novels helps to reveal the implications of the Frey case for future claims of literary fraud.

scholarly journals Richard Wright, Toni Morrison, and United States book clubs

2004 ◽  
Vol 37 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 3-8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark Madigan
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
African American ◽  
Toni Morrison ◽  
Book Club ◽  
Richard Wright ◽  
The United States ◽  
Book Clubs ◽  
African American Authors ◽  
Oprah's Book Club ◽  
American Authors

This essay focuses on the influence of commercial book clubs in the United States. It will examine the country's oldest commercial book club, the Book-of-the-Month Club (BOMC), Oprah's Book Club (OBC), which bears the name of its founder, television personality Oprah Winfrey, and their roles in the careers of two African-American authors, Richard Wright and Toni Morrison.

DR. RICHARD MEAD AND HIS REMEDY FOR THE BITE OF A MAD DOG

PEDIATRICS ◽  
1971 ◽  
Vol 47 (1) ◽  
pp. 80-80
Author(s):  
T. E. C.
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Eighteenth Century ◽  
Fine Powder ◽  
The United States ◽  
Black Pepper ◽  
Dog Bites ◽  
Cold Bath

Perhaps the best known English physician of the first half of the eighteenth century was Dr. Richard Mead (1673-1754). His regimen for the treatment of a patient bitten by a mad dog was widely used, not only in England but also in the United States. Dr. Mead's name was so revered that few physicians dared to question the efficacy of his regimen until Dr. James Mease (1771-1846) of Philadelphia who in 1792 wrote that Mead's management of rabid dog bites, cited below, was "totally useless."1 Take Ash coloured Ground Liverwort four drachms, Black Pepper two drachms, mix them together into a fine powder: This is to be divided into four doses, whereof one is to be taken in warm milk in a morning fasting, for four mornings successively; after this the person must be put into a cold bath, pond, or river, for thirty days together, early in the morning, and before breakfast: he is to remain in it with his head above water not longer than half a minute. The wound should be continually fomented with a pickle made with Vinegar and Salt, as warm as it can be borne.2

Two Models of Public Opinion: Bacon's ‘New Logic’ and Diotima's ‘Tale of Love’ (The Prothero Lecture)

1974 ◽  
Vol 24 ◽  
pp. 79-96
Author(s):  
Samuel H. Beer
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Public Policy ◽  
Eighteenth Century ◽  
Public Opinion ◽  
Theoretical Approach ◽  
Democratic Theory ◽  
The United States ◽  
Representative Government ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Work Done

It is appropriate that an American should address himself to the subject of public opinion. For, in terms of quantity, Americans have made the subject peculiarly their own. They have also invested it with characteristically American concerns. Most of the work done on the subject in the United States is oriented by a certain theoretical approach. This approach is democratic and rationalist. Both aspects create problems. In this paper I wish to play down the democratic problem, viz., how many of the voters are capable of thinking sensibly about public policy, and emphasize rather the difficulties that arise from modern rationalism. Here I take a different tack from most historians of the concept of public opinion, who, taking note of the origin of the term in the mid-eighteenth century, stress its connection with the rise of representative government and democratic theory.

The Origins of Western Dermatology

2010 ◽  
Vol 14 (6) ◽  
pp. 255-266
Author(s):  
J. Barrie Ross
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Eighteenth Century ◽  
Middle Ages ◽  
The United States ◽  
Historical Background ◽  
Eastern United States ◽  
The West ◽  
Defining Moments ◽  
Late Eighteenth Century ◽  
Late Eighteenth

Objective: On the premise that historical background makes the present more understandable, this review covers the origins of Western dermatology from its Greek and Roman origins through the Middle Ages to the defining moments in the late eighteenth century. Background and Conclusion: The development of major European centers at this time became the background for future centers in the eastern United States in the midnineteenth century and, finally, to the West Coast of the United States and Canada by the midtwentieth century.

The Pioneer in American Life Insurance Marketing

1938 ◽  
Vol 12 (5) ◽  
pp. 65-75
Author(s):  
J. Owen Stalson
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Eighteenth Century ◽  
North America ◽  
Life Insurance ◽  
General Public ◽  
Colonial America ◽  
The United States ◽  
Insurance Companies ◽  
Insurance Company ◽  
Fire Insurance

Colonial America gave little thought to life insurance selling. The colonists secured protection against marine risks from private underwriters, first in London, eventually at home. It has been asserted that Philadelphia had no fire insurance until 1752; Boston none before 1795. The first corporations formed in this country for insuring lives were those of the Presbyterian Ministers Fund (1759) and a similar company organized for the benefit of Episcopal ministers (1769). Neither of these corporations offered insurance to the general public. In the last decade of the eighteenth century many insurance companies were formed in the United States. At least five were chartered to underwrite life risks, but only one, The Insurance Company of North America, appears to have accepted any. There is no basis for saying that any of these early companies tried to sell life insurance.

scholarly journals Self-care perspective taking and empathy in a student-faculty book club in the United States

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 ◽  
pp. 22
Author(s):  
Rebecca Henderson ◽  
Melanie Gross Hagen ◽  
Zareen Zaidi ◽  
Valentina Dunder ◽  
Edlira Maska ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Perspective Taking ◽  
Book Club ◽  
Positive Impact ◽  
Self Care ◽  
The United States ◽  
School Students ◽  
Informal Curriculum ◽  
Meaningful Relationships ◽  
The Impact

Purpose: We aimed to study the impact of a combined faculty-student book club on education and medical practice as a part of the informal curriculum at the University of Florida College of Medicine in the United States.Methods: Sixteen medical students and 7 faculties who participated in the book club were interviewed through phone and recorded. The interview was then transcribed and entered into the qualitative data analysis program QSR NVivo (QSR International, Burlington, MA, USA). The transcripts were reviewed, and thematic codes were developed inductively through collaborative iteration. Based on these preliminary codes, a coding dictionary was developed and applied to all interviews within QSR Nvivo to identify themes.Results: Four main themes were identified from interviews: The first theme, the importance of literature to the development and maintenance of empathy and perspective-taking, and the second theme, the importance of the book club in promoting mentorship, personal relationships and professional development, were important to both student and faculty participants. The third and fourth themes, the need for the book club as a tool for self-care and the book club serving as a reminder about the world outside of school were discussed by student book club members.Conclusion: Our study demonstrated that an informal book club has a significant positive impact on self-care, perspective-taking, empathy, and developing a “world outside of school” for medical school students and faculty in the United States. It also helps to foster meaningful relationships between students and faculty.

scholarly journals The Gilded Interior: French Style and American Renaissance

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-22
Author(s):  
Laura C. Jenkins
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
New York ◽  
Eighteenth Century ◽  
Gilded Age ◽  
The United States ◽  
Decorative Arts ◽  
American Renaissance ◽  
Interior Decoration ◽  
Architectural Tradition

ABSTRACT In the decades around the turn of the twentieth century, New York was seized by a passion for things French in interior decoration. The influx of French eighteenth-century decorative arts from London and Paris exerted a powerful influence over the imaginations of a new millionaire class, while the emergence of the professional dealer-decorator established channels for the incorporation of these materials into the luxury residence. While these interiors were developed in collaboration with leading US architects such as Richard Morris Hunt and George B. Post, they also posed a subtle challenge to the discourse of intellectualism developed on architects’ behalf. Governed by issues of taste and commerce as well as by artistic judgement, these French interiors presented a compelling vision of aristocratic stature that was at once in keeping, and in conflict, with the aspirations of an American Renaissance. This article considers the role of eighteenth-century French-style interiors in the articulation of a ‘civilised’ architectural tradition in the United States during the so-called Gilded Age. Focusing on the private mansion, it reconsiders the notion of the American Renaissance as a principally academic movement by calling attention to the ways in which it also responded to the requirements of the elite class as well as the commercial marketplace.

Financial accounting scandals and the reform of corporate governance in the United States and in Italy

2017 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 77-88 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel P. Sorensen ◽  
Scott E. Miller
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Corporate Governance ◽  
Financial Reporting ◽  
The United States ◽  
Class Action ◽  
Financial Accounting ◽  
Private Enforcement ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Accounting Scandals ◽  
The Usa

Purpose In the 1990s and beginning of the next decade, a series of financial accounting scandals occurred in the United States (USA or US) and in several other countries of the world. The USA and Italy (among others) responded with legislation to reform financial reporting and corporate governance in these jurisdictions. This paper aims to compare the regulatory response of Italy to that of the USA. Design/methodology/approach This paper includes a review of relevant literature and evaluation of the actions of the regulatory authorities. Findings In the case of the financial reporting crises, the rapid response put the USA into the role of the “first mover” with the European Union (EU) reacting to US initiatives and eventually converging to a large degree with the provisions of the US legislation. Italy has adopted many of the same regulatory reforms as the USA and has added some reforms that are directed to the specific needs to Italy. Research limitations/implications In conjunction with legislative initiatives like Sarbanes-Oxley, private enforcement mechanisms, such as shareholder class action suits in the USA, play an important role in discouraging and punishing financial accounting fraud. Practical implications In the absence of significant reforms of the Italian private enforcement system, corporate governance abuses and the potential for accounting scandals may still be persistent. As a whole, cooperative efforts continue between the USA and the EU. Such efforts are needed more and more, as companies become increasingly globalized. Originality/value This paper provides comparison and evaluation of corporate governance reform efforts in the USA and Italy.

The Movement

2012 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aryeh Neier
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Nineteenth Century ◽  
Eighteenth Century ◽  
Human Rights ◽  
Driving Force ◽  
The United States ◽  
Feminist Movement ◽  
Human Rights Movement ◽  
Protection Of Human Rights ◽  
National Boundaries

This chapter explains that the driving force behind the protection of human rights worldwide, today and for roughly the past thirty-five years, has been the nongovernmental human rights movement. Intermittently during the last two-and-a-half centuries, citizens' movements did play important roles in efforts to promote human rights, as during the development of the antislavery movement in England in the eighteenth century and the rise of the feminist movement in the United States in the nineteenth century. The contemporary human rights movement responds to victories and defeats by shifting focus from time to time, but it shows signs that it will remain an enduring force in world affairs. Efforts by those outside governments have been particularly important in extending the protection of rights beyond national boundaries, and it is in the present era that they have been most significant.

Development and Demise of Rosewood

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Edward González-Tennant
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Eighteenth Century ◽  
American History ◽  
The United States ◽  
State Legislature ◽  
Media Attention ◽  
Social Trends ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Town ◽  
Hollywood Movie

Chapter 2 presents a history of Rosewood beginning with a brief overview of previous research into the town’s past. Most of the research takes place in response to a statewide conversation in the early and mid-1990s. Growing media attention encouraged Floridians to grapple with the meaning of Rosewood’s destruction in the past and present. The attention encouraged the state legislature to compensate the survivors and descendants of the massacre; that compensation represents the primary example of reparations granted to African Americans in the United States. To better understand the events of 1923, Florida’s state legislature commissioned a group of historians to investigate and write a concise history of the town and its destruction. The resulting report, based on four months of research, remains the authoritative treatment of the 1923 riot. The report, a few articles, a popular book, and a Hollywood movie all contribute to public knowledge and representations of Rosewood. González-Tennant’s overview of Rosewood’s history adds to previous research by offering a comprehensive look at similar events in American history. González-Tennant contextualizes Rosewood within broader social trends beginning in the eighteenth century and continuing until today.

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