Author Date

2023-6

Degree Name

BA

Department

English

College

Humanities

Defense Date

2023-05-10

Publication Date

2023-06-03

First Faculty Advisor

Dr. Dennis R. Cutchins

First Faculty Reader

Dr. David Stock

Honors Coordinator

Dr. Aaron Eastley

Keywords

Emerson, Carnegie, Management, Leadership, Business, Influence

Abstract

This thesis considers how the essays of Ralph Waldo Emerson may be seen as an important precursor to Dale Carnegie’s How to Win Friends and Influence People. Through a side-by-side analysis of four key topics—creativity, intention, action, and the idea of a non-hierarchal society—it becomes clear that the independent and creative mindset envisioned by Emerson in essays like “Self-Reliance” and “The American Scholar” finds a full and practical expression in the pages of Carnegie’s famous book. A close reading of these texts will reveal how Carnegie’s application of the philosophical ideas put forth by Emerson served as the foundation for many later management and leadership texts.

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