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Self - The Language of Social Science in Everyday Life

Date: Thu, 5 February 2026 ¡ 17:00 - 18:00
Cost: Free
Venue: South School, Examination Schools
Address: 75–81 High Street, Oxford, OX1 4BG, United Kingdom
Event page: https://www.history.ox.ac.uk/event/self

Self

This lecture examines the rise of the “New Psychology” in the early twentieth century and its profound influence on everyday understandings of personality, development, intelligence, and the unconscious. Peter Mandler charts the shift from “character” to “personality” as Britons adopted new vocabularies for describing inner life.

What to expect:

  • 🧩 How psychology reframed the modern self
  • 🧠 The spread of ideas about personality types, development, and intelligence
  • 📘 The cultural impact of psychological language