JOURNAL ARTICLE

Samuel Johnson, Infrastructure, and the Spirit of Progress.

  • Published In: Eighteenth-Century Studies, 2024, v. 58, n. 1. P. 101 1 of 3

  • Database: Academic Search Ultimate 2 of 3

  • Authored By: Hudson, Nicholas 3 of 3

Abstract

Samuel Johnson advocated the building and maintenance of roads bridges canals and other infrastructure as the defining difference between "civilized" and "barbaric" or "feudal" societies. His promotion of infrastructure is most clearly shown in his Journey to the Western Islands of Scotland (1775) where he comments repeatedly on roads or their absence implying that only improved means of transport and communication will bring the Highlands into the fold of modern civilization exemplified by England. Johnson added something of his own in his promotion of what I call "literary infrastructure" meaning his Dictionary and other works that he describes as roads to linguistic and scholarly progress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Additional Information

  • Source:Eighteenth-Century Studies. 2024/10, Vol. 58, Issue 1, p101
  • Document Type:Article
  • Subject Area:History
  • Publication Date:2024
  • ISSN:0013-2586
  • DOI:10.1353/ecs.2024.a944065
  • Accession Number:180973148
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