History of Psychology

Ten years of Italian historiography of psychology: A field in progress.
This article briefly outlines a picture of the activities and research conducted in Italy on the history of psychology during the last 10 years, focusing its attention on institutions, scholars, conferences, archives, journals, and so forth. At the dawn of the 21st century, the tradition of historical-psychological studies that developed in the last quarter of the 20th century has led to a renewed situation in teaching organization and research, with the emergence of several groups, especially at the universities of Rome “Sapienza,” Bari, Milan-Bicocca, and Urbino, and of a second generation of young historians increasingly engaged on an international level. After a general survey conducted with historiometric method on the principal areas of research cultivated and on the themes dealt with, we mention a change that has occurred in the historiographical approach, a transition from a historiography addressed prevalently to the “history of ideas” to one that, pursuing the approach of a new and critical “multifactorial” history, proves to be more attentive to the social and institutional history, in correspondence with established international trends. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)
Historiography of psychology in Brazil: Pioneer works, recent developments.
The evolution of the historiography of psychology in Brazil is surveyed, to describe how the field has evolved from the seminal works of the pioneer, mostly self-taught, psychologists, to the now professional historians working from a variety of theoretical models and methods of inquiry. The first accounts of the history of psychology written by Brazilians and by foreigners are surveyed, as well as the recent works made by researchers linked to the Work Group on the History of Psychology of the Brazilian Association of Research and Graduate Education in Psychology and published in periodicals such as Memorandum and Mnemosine. The present historiography focuses mainly the relationship of psychological knowledge to specific social and cultural conditions, emphasizing themes such as women's participation in the construction of the field, the development of psychology as a science and as a profession in education and health, and the development of psychology as an expression of Brazilian culture and of the experience of resistance of local communities to domination. To reveal this process of identity construction, a cultural historiography is an important tool, coupled with methodological pluralism. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)
Historiography of psychology in Spain: The last decade.
History of Psychology has been an extremely active field for many years in Spain. Both the great expansion of psychological studies and the inclusion of history as a compulsory subject in the psychology curriculum are crucial factors helping to understand the current state of affairs. The aim of this paper is to provide a survey of the work done in this area over the last decade, covering research, teaching, and institutional developments. The study includes consideration of aspects such as main research lines, major theoretical and methodological trends, teaching materials, relevant archives and exhibits, and significant websites. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)
Historiography of Czech psychology.
The paper is aimed at presenting the development of the Czech historiography of psychology, which was strongly influenced by the political changes in Central and Eastern Europe. The authors deal with the historiography of psychology at the three universities offering an undergraduate program in psychology, located in Prague, Brno, and Olomouc, and at the Institute of Psychology of the Czech Academy of Sciences. Recent research, teaching, textbooks, and journal articles published in Czech and in foreign languages are showcased. The historiography of Czech psychotherapy is mentioned as a special thematic development. Contemporary problems and perspectives in the field of the history of psychology in the Czech Republic are discussed, sources of information are given. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)
The Adolf-Würth-Center for the History of Psychology at the University of Würzburg: Its history, present, and future.
The Adolf-Würth-Center for the History of Psychology at the University of Würzburg is the successor of the former Institute for the History of Modern Psychology in Passau, founded in the early 1980s by Professor Werner Traxel. In 2009, the Institute moved to Würzburg and was reopened there. With an exemplary sponsorship by Prof. Dr. H.C. Mult. Reinhold Würth and the Adolf Würth GmbH & Co. KG it was possible to realize good spatial conditions for the archive, offering new perspectives for research in the field of history of psychology. This article describes the development of the Adolf-Würth-Center for the History of Psychology and its predecessor, the historical collections, and the service offered by the Adolf-Würth-Center as well as its tasks and goals. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)
An essay by Walter Benjamin.
Walter Benjamin (1892–1940) was a philosopher, literary critic, and a translator of Proust and Baudelaire. Benjamin left us a substantial number of writings, including translations, book reviews, literary essays and monographs. In 1935, Benjamin wrote a remarkable essay on the sociology of language. The essay contained an overview of contemporary research into the origin and nature of language. It was remarkable for its scope and breadth of knowledge even when we take into account that Benjamin freely borrowed from the insights in Delacroix’s (1924) classic book on language and thought. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)
Tracking down some ancient baboons.
In this article the author recounts his search to find an original picture of an ancient Egyptian Sun Sanctuary nearby the temple Abu Simbel. The author learned that the sun sanctuary had been dismantled in 1915, the baboons transported to the Egyptian Museum in Cairo for safekeeping. Thus if he were to have a proper photograph of the baboons in their original setting, it would have to have been taken before 1915. After searching a seven volume index to every site in Egypt, Dr. Spanel reported that such a picture can be found in Gaston Maspero’s Rapports relatifs á la consolidation des temples, published in Cairo in 1911 by the Institut français d'archéologie orientale. So, it was not long after the author sent off his third request that an express envelope arrived from Egypt, with a fine copy of the photograph and a cover letter from the director, saying that he was sending it with his compliments and best wishes. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)
News.
This news section of the journal includes conference reports, meeting information, Council of Representative reports, updates on research, archival information, books information and finally upcoming meeting and conference information. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)

History of Psychology - Vol 13, Iss 3