Huey Long (1989: xviii) comments that he was ‘primarily a social worker’ (for this read youth worker and community worker) ‘turned philosopher and that his view of adult education was influenced accordingly’. Lindeman was able to work across traditional subject borders and disciplines. He died in 1953.Īs can be seen from the above, Eduard C. Lindeman possessed a ‘consistent determination never to separate human problems from philosophical consideration’ and demanded ‘that the profession should not separate them’ ( Konopka 1958: 12). Arguably, his exploration of social philosophy kept it ‘alive’ within social work. He also wrote about social research (1933 with John Hader), social education (1933) and democratic living (1951a, 1956). He continued to be a strong advocate of group work and community organization and was a significant voice in the establishment of these within the discourse of North American social work during the 1930s. He became closely associated with the New Republic, served on various commissions, was advisory editor to Mentor Books and was Chair of the American Civil Liberties Union Commission on Academic Freedom (1949).Īs well as writing on adult education, Eduard Lindeman produced early, pioneering, texts on community and community organization (1921), and on working with groups (1924). After a short, and again problematic, spell at the North Carolina College for Women in Greensboro he joined the New York School of Social Work (later the Columbia University School of Social Work) in 1924 – and stayed there until he retired in 1950. Lindeman then joined the teaching staff at the YMCA College of Chicago – a situation that he left after a year as he enraged many of his colleagues with his forward-looking social and theological ideas. He went into agricultural extension work (via the Boys and Girls Clubs and 4-H) essentially as a youth worker and community organizer. As his daughter was later to write, his career defied categorization (Leonard 1991: xxiii). At Michigan, he became involved in the YMCA, developed a writing society and helped to found the Ethnic-Sociological Society. He began on a ‘sub-freshman’ programme (what we might now call an ‘access course’) and then joined the main programme. Aged 22 he went to Michigan Agricultural College (later Michigan State University) where his interests widened considerably. He also worked in a shipyard and factories in Detroit. Lindeman’s early work life included spells as a stable cleaner, nurseryman, grave digger, brickyard worker and deliverer of groceries.
the making of the meaning of adult educationĮduard Christian Lindeman was born in 1885, in St Clair, Michigan USA, He was the son of German/Danish immigrants.In this piece, we explore his life and classic work The Meaning of Adult Education.
Lindeman (1885 – 1953) also wrote one of the first books on community development, was an early explorer of groupwork and worked to extend popular education.
Perhaps best known today for his work in adult education, Eduard C.
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