John Dewey in American Thought and Culture, 1950-2000

Historians have long regarded John Dewey (1859-1952) as a central theorist of American democracy during the first half of the twentieth century. Yet, while historians have given much attention to Dewey’s philosophy, they have neglected to examine his posthumous influence on American thought and culture. This represents a major oversight, since Dewey’s thought continued to resonate with multiple and varied groups of Americans, orienting their participation in movements for social change in striking ways. Across divergent postwar contexts, the figures examined in this dissertation enlisted Dewey’s thought as a set of critical tools for thinking about intellectual engagement, civic reconstruction and the deepening of American democracy.

Name dc:type.qualificationname

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Level dc:type.qualificationlevel

Doctoral

Grantor dc:publisher.institution

University of Cambridge

Year dc:date.issued

2026

Author dc:creator

• Selsdon Games, Fergus

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Gerstle, Gary

• American History
• American Philosophy
• Education
• Intellectual History
• John Dewey
• Political Thought
• Pragmatism
• Progressive Education

Licence

• https://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/bitstreams/bc333b69-1749-4301-b09d-8190b43070e5/download
• http://purl.org/NET/rdflicense/allrightsreserved

Language dc:language

eng

DOI dc:identifier.doi

https://doi.org/10.17863/CAM.132185

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:www.repository.cam.ac.uk:1810/406056