Daniel J. Boorstin
Also known as Daniel Boorstin, Daniel Joseph Boorstin
American historian (1914 to 2004) and Librarian of Congress who coined the "pseudo-event".
At a glance
Main ideas
Pseudo-events, Consensus history, Ideology is un-American …
See all 4Criticism
HUAC, His appointment
See all 2Books to start with
The Genius of American Politics, The Image, The Americans …
See all 4Connections
Richard Hofstadter and The Image: A Guide to Pseudo-events in America
See all 2
Also on this page: Key facts · Links · Sources · Related pages
- Boorstin was a University of Chicago historian of American and world history and a leading figure of the consensus school.
- In The Image he described pseudo-events and the celebrity who is "known for his well-knownness".
- He directed the Smithsonian's National Museum of History and Technology and then served as the twelfth Librarian of Congress.
- He wrote more than 20 books with his wife Ruth as collaborator.
Why it matters
- His idea of the pseudo-event anticipated much later thinking about media, celebrity and manufactured news.
Key facts
- Born
- 1 Oct 1914, Atlanta, Georgia1
- Died
- 28 Feb 2004, Washington, D.C., of pneumonia1
- Education
- Harvard College (1934, summa cum laude); Rhodes Scholar at Balliol College, Oxford, BA (1936) and BCL (1937)1
- Career
- Swarthmore from 1942 to 1944; University of Chicago from 1944 to 1969; Smithsonian from 1969 to 19751
- Librarian of Congress
- From 1975 to 1987, the twelfth1
- Award
- Pulitzer Prize (1974) for The Americans: The Democratic Experience1
Main ideas
-
Pseudo-events1
Events staged to be reported, which come to matter more than real ones.
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Consensus history1
American history was shaped more by what people agreed on than by what they fought over.
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Ideology is un-American1
In The Genius of American Politics he argued ideology and political theory are foreign to America.
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Mundane inventions1
Air conditioning, canned food and typewriters transformed everyday life.
Criticism
Books to start with
The line under a date fills as it gets older: empty when new, full at 2 years.
Connections
Links
Sources
Last checked against its sources today
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