Anne B. Rodrick teaches European history at Wofford College, USA, where she also directs the Humanities program and the Medicine in the Liberal Arts Program.

• Introduction: The Growth of Knowledge-Based CulturePart 1: 1850-18701: “The Desire to form a little Lecture Union”: Early Lecture Circuits2. Shaping “Intelligent Public Opinion”: The Development of Civic Institutions3. “The General Literature and Thought of our Country and Time”: Mid-Century Lectures, Debates, and DiscussionsPart II: 1870-1900 4. “The improvement and social well-being of mankind”: The Sunday Lecture Society and its Kindred Societies, 1870-18935. “So Healthy A Growth In Our Large Outside Centres”: Suburban Institutes and the Dilution of Cultural Competence6. Agencies and Attitudes: The Late Victorian Ecosystem of KnowledgeConclusion: Whither the Popular Lecture?BibliographyIndex

With extensive sifting through obscure and scattered sources … Rodrick’s emphasis on ‘hard’ data as the basis of her study is a great virtue of her book, enabling analysis of changes over time in lecture topics and genres, variations by geography and type of hosting institution, and the typologies of the lecturers themselves.

Anne B. Rodrick teaches European history at Wofford College, USA, where she also directs the Humanities program and the Medicine in the Liberal Arts Program.

• Introduction: The Growth of Knowledge-Based CulturePart 1: 1850-18701: “The Desire to form a little Lecture Union”: Early Lecture Circuits2. Shaping “Intelligent Public Opinion”: The Development of Civic Institutions3. “The General Literature and Thought of our Country and Time”: Mid-Century Lectures, Debates, and DiscussionsPart II: 1870-1900 4. “The improvement and social well-being of mankind”: The Sunday Lecture Society and its Kindred Societies, 1870-18935. “So Healthy A Growth In Our Large Outside Centres”: Suburban Institutes and the Dilution of Cultural Competence6. Agencies and Attitudes: The Late Victorian Ecosystem of KnowledgeConclusion: Whither the Popular Lecture?BibliographyIndex

With extensive sifting through obscure and scattered sources … Rodrick’s emphasis on ‘hard’ data as the basis of her study is a great virtue of her book, enabling analysis of changes over time in lecture topics and genres, variations by geography and type of hosting institution, and the typologies of the lecturers themselves.

Anne B. Rodrick teaches European history at Wofford College, USA, where she also directs the Humanities program and the Medicine in the Liberal Arts Program.

• Introduction: The Growth of Knowledge-Based CulturePart 1: 1850-18701: “The Desire to form a little Lecture Union”: Early Lecture Circuits2. Shaping “Intelligent Public Opinion”: The Development of Civic Institutions3. “The General Literature and Thought of our Country and Time”: Mid-Century Lectures, Debates, and DiscussionsPart II: 1870-1900 4. “The improvement and social well-being of mankind”: The Sunday Lecture Society and its Kindred Societies, 1870-18935. “So Healthy A Growth In Our Large Outside Centres”: Suburban Institutes and the Dilution of Cultural Competence6. Agencies and Attitudes: The Late Victorian Ecosystem of KnowledgeConclusion: Whither the Popular Lecture?BibliographyIndex

With extensive sifting through obscure and scattered sources … Rodrick’s emphasis on ‘hard’ data as the basis of her study is a great virtue of her book, enabling analysis of changes over time in lecture topics and genres, variations by geography and type of hosting institution, and the typologies of the lecturers themselves.