Conference Materials

Clark University's 1909 conference, which took place September 6th through September 19th, was a celebration of the institution's Twentieth Anniversary featuring lectures, discussions, and demonstrations from prominent scientists and scholars across the physical, biological, and social sciences. The conference is most notable for the participation of Sigmund Freud who, along with Carl Jung, would take their first and only trip to America to attend. The five lectures Freud gave, collectively titled “The Origin and Development of Psychoanalysis” and subsequently known in print as “Five Lectures on Psychoanalysis”, mark the formal introduction of his theories to the United States.

Additionally, a five-day Conference on Child Welfare took place two months earlier, from July 6th through the 10th, featuring representatives from twenty-seven types of child welfare organizations. The entirety of the 1909 Conference was originally planned for July. Due to the number of scheduling conflicts preventing invitees, including Freud, from attending, the conference was mostly shifted to September. For this reason, materials relating to the Conference on Child Welfare are included in this collection.

This series contains any internal materials related to the conference and include invitations, planning documents, programs, lectures, and more.

The materials in this collection reflect the time period in which they were written. Some of these materials may contain outdated, biased, and/or offensive ideas, perspectives, and terminology.

While these materials represent the bulk of the collection, we expect to add more in the coming months. (Written February 2025).