Jenny Davidson
Encyclopedia
Jenny Davidson is an American historian and writer who writes about 18th-century literature, etiquette and culture. She is currently an associate professor of English and Comparative Literature at Columbia University
. She was a Guggenheim
Fellow during 2005-2006 and was named a visiting scholar to The American Academy of Arts and Sciences that same year. Davidson was awarded the Mark Van Doren Award in 2010 for her commitment to undergraduate instruction.
An alumna of Harvard University
, Davidson completed her Ph.D. at Yale University
in 1999. Her dissertation Hypocrisy and the Politics of Politeness was published by Cambridge University Press in 2004. Her analysis of 18th century literature and history, particularly the language that authors of the period used to describe social interactions posits that "politeness and manners served hypocritical aims, principally the subjugation of servants and women" Her second non-fiction publication Breeding: A Partial History of the Eighteenth Century continues this exploration of Age of Enlightenment
authors along with people who have subsequently critiqued their work. Her research explores John Locke
's and Jean-Jacques Rousseau
's assertions about the nature of humanity, and looks at novelist Daniel Defoe
and the implications of his decisions concerning portraying a man in isolation. Her research reveals "a fresh perspective on a world that was struggling between the belief that a person's birth determined his place in the world and one where virtually anyone could be transformed through education" using literature of the time as a lens through which to examine societal mores concerning inborn as well as cultivated talents.
Davidson has written several novels. Her first novel Heredity addresses similar themes of etiquette and culture that show up in her later research. The novel contains within it a fictional 18th-century manuscript which the New York Times Book Review said "comments cleverly on the novel's recasting of the classic coming-of-age motif as a struggle between warring impulses of self-perpetuation and self-annihiliation." Heredity was chosen as a Gear 100 Buzz Pick of 2003 by Gear magazine.
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
. She was a Guggenheim
Guggenheim
Guggenheim may refer to:* Benjamin Guggenheim* Charles Guggenheim* Davis Guggenheim* Guggenheim Building* Guggenheim family* Guggenheim Fellowship* Guggenheim Museum * Harry Frank Guggenheim* John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation...
Fellow during 2005-2006 and was named a visiting scholar to The American Academy of Arts and Sciences that same year. Davidson was awarded the Mark Van Doren Award in 2010 for her commitment to undergraduate instruction.
An alumna of Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
, Davidson completed her Ph.D. at Yale University
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
in 1999. Her dissertation Hypocrisy and the Politics of Politeness was published by Cambridge University Press in 2004. Her analysis of 18th century literature and history, particularly the language that authors of the period used to describe social interactions posits that "politeness and manners served hypocritical aims, principally the subjugation of servants and women" Her second non-fiction publication Breeding: A Partial History of the Eighteenth Century continues this exploration of Age of Enlightenment
Age of Enlightenment
The Age of Enlightenment was an elite cultural movement of intellectuals in 18th century Europe that sought to mobilize the power of reason in order to reform society and advance knowledge. It promoted intellectual interchange and opposed intolerance and abuses in church and state...
authors along with people who have subsequently critiqued their work. Her research explores John Locke
John Locke
John Locke FRS , widely known as the Father of Liberalism, was an English philosopher and physician regarded as one of the most influential of Enlightenment thinkers. Considered one of the first of the British empiricists, following the tradition of Francis Bacon, he is equally important to social...
's and Jean-Jacques Rousseau
Jean-Jacques Rousseau
Jean-Jacques Rousseau was a Genevan philosopher, writer, and composer of 18th-century Romanticism. His political philosophy influenced the French Revolution as well as the overall development of modern political, sociological and educational thought.His novel Émile: or, On Education is a treatise...
's assertions about the nature of humanity, and looks at novelist Daniel Defoe
Daniel Defoe
Daniel Defoe , born Daniel Foe, was an English trader, writer, journalist, and pamphleteer, who gained fame for his novel Robinson Crusoe. Defoe is notable for being one of the earliest proponents of the novel, as he helped to popularise the form in Britain and along with others such as Richardson,...
and the implications of his decisions concerning portraying a man in isolation. Her research reveals "a fresh perspective on a world that was struggling between the belief that a person's birth determined his place in the world and one where virtually anyone could be transformed through education" using literature of the time as a lens through which to examine societal mores concerning inborn as well as cultivated talents.
Davidson has written several novels. Her first novel Heredity addresses similar themes of etiquette and culture that show up in her later research. The novel contains within it a fictional 18th-century manuscript which the New York Times Book Review said "comments cleverly on the novel's recasting of the classic coming-of-age motif as a struggle between warring impulses of self-perpetuation and self-annihiliation." Heredity was chosen as a Gear 100 Buzz Pick of 2003 by Gear magazine.
External links
- Light Reading - personal blog