Models of education: Rousseau, Godwin, and the subject of childhood reading (Jean-Jacques Rousseau, William Godwin)

This dissertation examines models of education in the writings of Rousseau and Godwin, two revolutionary thinkers who shared similar pedagogical ideals but greatly differed in their views about childhood reading. I give close attention to Rousseau's claims against early reading and to Godwin's arguments in favor of it, but I also broaden the scope of that debate by advancing a new way of looking at Rousseau's seminal work on education. Drawing upon Jacques Derrida's deconstructive theory about the paradoxical economy of the “ supplément” as well as upon other critics' insights about the figurative “nature” of Rousseau's work, I argue that the most striking supplements of Emile—its original set of engraved illustrations—are emblematic of a provocatively ironic model of instruction, one that teaches by exhibiting signs of its own transgressions. The illustrations, I find, not only represent a model of “natural education” for children, but also offer adults lessons about what most concerns Rousseau, namely, the seductive nature of representation itself.; Chapter one outlines my method for interpreting Rousseau's ideas about education, a method I establish in part by studying the way he deals with matters of representation in Narcisse, Julie, the Essay on the Origin of Languages, and the Confessions. Chapter two demonstrates in detail how Emile's illustrations reflect Rousseau's anxieties about reading and representation. Chapter three expounds upon such concerns by approaching them from another perspective, as I analyze a number of writings by Godwin that are both heavily indebted to and highly critical of the model of education Rousseau provides. These works by Godwin include his unfinished Autobiography, An Account of the Seminary, The Enquirer, and his children's book, Fables Ancient and Modern. In examining these texts, I show how each one in different ways not only counters Rousseau but also exemplifies Godwin's fundamental principles of enlightenment.