Knowra Vernon Louis Parrington Vernon Louis Parrington Vernon Louis Parrington (1871–1929) was an American literary historian and critic. His three-volume Main Currents in American Thought traced conflicts in American intellectual history and won the 1928 Pulitzer Prize for History.
Main Currents in American Thought : A three-volume history of American thought by Vernon Louis Parrington, published from 1927 to 1930. This Pulitzer-winning work presents Parrington’s account of conflicts shaping American intellectual life.
Emporia College : A private college in Emporia, Kansas, founded in 1882 as the College of Emporia. Parrington taught English there before joining the University of Washington faculty.
William James : An American philosopher and psychologist who helped establish pragmatism and wrote The Varieties of Religious Experience . James exemplifies the American intellectual tradition Parrington interpreted historically.
Progressive historiography : An approach to United States history that emphasizes economic conflict, reform, and challenges to concentrated power. Parrington’s work became a prominent literary expression of this historical approach.
Progressivism : A reform movement that sought to address social and political problems associated with industrialization and urbanization. Parrington’s account of American history emphasized reformist challenges to entrenched economic power.
University of Oklahoma : A public research university in Norman, Oklahoma, founded in 1890. Parrington taught English at the university early in his academic career.
Ralph Waldo Emerson : An American essayist, lecturer, and poet who became a leading voice of transcendentalism. Emerson’s writing occupies a central place in Parrington’s account of American thought.
New Criticism : A twentieth-century approach to literary study that emphasizes close analysis of texts apart from authorial intention and historical context. Its rise displaced the historical and political emphasis central to Parrington’s criticism.
American literary criticism : The analysis and evaluation of literature produced in the United States. Parrington treated literary works as evidence of broader political and social ideas.
University of Washington : A public research university in Seattle, Washington, founded in 1861. Parrington spent much of his career teaching at this university.
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