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Jefferson and Erikson, Politics and the Life Cycle
- Biography
- University of Hawai'i Press
- Volume 9, Number 4, Fall 1986
- pp. 290-305
- 10.1353/bio.2010.0477
- Article
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The importance of Erik H. Erikson's study of Thomas Jefferson, Dimensions of a New Identity (1974), belies its brevity and unusual biographical technique. It represents a style of cultural history which artfully integrates the legacy of orthodox psychoanalysis with adaptations and revisions proposed by Erikson and scholars in other disciplines. Dimensions of a New Identity is also a record of crucial elements in Erikson's own life history, especially his incorporation of distinctly American themes into his theoretical and clinical work.