The Forbidden Experiment: The Story of the Wild Boy of Aveyron
by Roger Shattuck
139 Members (3.15)
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Description
"Just before dawn on January 9, 1800, a mysterious creature emerged from a forest in southern France. Although he was human in form and walked upright, his habits were those of a young male animal. He was wearing only a tattered shirt, but did not seem troubled by the cold. Showing no modesty about his nakedness, he ate greedily, seizing roasted potatoes from a hot fire. He seemed to have no language skills, only grunting occasionally. A cause celebre developed over the question of what show more should be done with this puzzling wild boy. People Could he learn to speak? Or be taught to eat with a knife and fork? In THE FORBIDDEN EXPERIMENT, the award-winning cultural historian Roger Shattuck offers a captivating account of this fascinating episode in intellectual history. He examines the relationships that developed among the boy, soon named Victor; Madame Guerin, the woman who fed and washed him; and Itard, the tutor who defiled his colleagues who believed the boy was hopelessly retarded. Shattuck helps modern readers form many of the questions that still haunt parents, special education teachers, guidance counselors, and all students of human behavior to this How do children acquire language? How do deaf and mute children learn? Can children who have been neglected or abused ever learn to trust the world? Like a true-life tale of adventure rolled into a detective story, Roger Shattuck's riveting account of the Wild Boy of Aveyron is an unforgettable telling of one of history's greatest mystery stories"-- Provided by publisher. show lessTags
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Author Information
16+ Works 2,566 Members
Roger Shattuck taught for many years at Boston University and now resides in Vermont. He is the author, most recently, of "Candor & Perversion". (Bowker Author Biography)
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Classifications
- Genres
- Anthropology, Nonfiction, General Nonfiction, Biography & Memoir, History, Science & Nature, Philosophy
- DDC/MDS
- 155.4 — Philosophy & psychology Psychology Differential and developmental psychology Childhood
- LCC
- GN372 .S5 — Geography, Anthropology and Recreation Anthropology Anthropology Ethnology. Social and cultural anthropology
- BISAC
Statistics
- Members
- 139
- Popularity
- 235,940
- Rating
- (3.15)
- Languages
- English
- Media
- Paper, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 6
- ASINs
- 3
