A discussion of Margaret Fuller's Summer on the Lakes
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The Department of English seeks to provide all university students with the skills of effective communication and critical thinking, as well as imparting knowledge of literature, creative writing, linguistics, speech and technical communication to students within and outside of the department.
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The Department of English and Speech was formed in 1939 from the merger of the Department of English and the Department of Public Speaking. In 1971 its name changed to the Department of English.
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1939-present
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- Department of English and Speech (1939-1971)
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- College of Liberal Arts and Sciences (parent college)
- Department of English (predecessor, 1898-1939)
- Department of Public Speaking (predecessor, 1898-1939)
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Abstract
Recent discussions of Margaret Fuller and her accomplishments concentrate on her gradual transition from Transcendental idealism to social activism. David M. Robinson calls Fuller's Woman in the Nineteenth Century the "bridge" between these two ideologies, yet other scholars have cited Fuller's journey to the Great Lakes region and Summer on the Lakes, in 1843, the book that resulted, as the first stage of her "centrifugal career" (Chevigny). I believe an examination of Summer on the Lakes will demonstrate that the latter is a more accurate description of Fuller's evolution. Because Summer has not been more than cursorily examined in this light, this paper's purpose is to analyze Summer on the Lakes as a component of Fuller's waning interests in Transcendentalism as theory and an indication of an increasing commitment to social activism. This paper will also examine Summer on the Lakes as exceptionally valuable evidence of Fuller's skill as a writer.