Artigo Revisado por pares

The Prodigy and the Press: William James Sidis, Anti-Intellectualism, and Standards of Success

2011; SAGE Publishing; Volume: 88; Issue: 2 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1177/107769901108800209

ISSN

2161-430X

Autores

Stephen Bates,

Tópico(s)

American History and Culture

Resumo

William James Sidis was a reclusive former child prodigy whom the New Yorker found in 1937 and mocked as an eccentric failure. Sidis sued the magazine, leading to one of America's landmark rulings on invasion of privacy. Analyzing themes in the New Yorker article and other news coverage of Sidis, this study finds both anti-intellectualism, including disparagement of Sidis's masculinity, and deference to psychological experts. Some coverage also indicates that the press sought to impose a particular vision of success on Sidis.

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