Tuesday, May 03, 2016

Verify Those Memes

Browsing just now at Mark Ames's Twitter I found this:



Something was off, namely the use of the word "selfesteem." It is said to have been coined by William James in his 1890 book, The Principles of Psychology, many decades after the speech Lord Macaulay allegedly made.

The "speech" has gained currency among some Hindu nationalists as evidence of a conspiracy to destroy Indian education and demoralize its people. (Interestingly, Ames often rails against Narendra Modi and other Hindu nationalist politicians. E.g., )

This Wikipedia article on the English Education Act gives context to Macaulay's (actual) remarks.


Minute by the Hon'ble T. B. Macaulay, dated the 2nd February 1835.

The Columbia webpage gives as a source this site:

http://www.mssu.edu/projectsouthasia/history/primarydocs/education/Macaulay001.htm (dead link)

Further discussion here.

No comments: