CAL remarks highlight Centennial Commemoration
of Freud’s visit to America and Hoboken

HOBOKEN, N.J. — Stevens Institute of Technology Professor of Psychology Susan Schept, a faculty member in the College of Arts and Letters (CAL), outlined the many contributions of Sigmund Freud, during a brief ceremony, on September 21, marking Freud’s historic visit to America – and his presence in Hoboken – 100 years ago this month.

“We see the world and ourselves differently because of Freud,” Professor Schept told a small crowd gathered in Pier A Park. She explained that, although his revolutionary theories have never been proved, Freud thought of himself first as a scientist.

“The mission of Stevens College of Arts and Letters is to look at the humanities and social science through the lens of science,” Professor Schept said. “I dare say that Freud would have felt very comfortable, very much at home and in agreement with the CAL mission.”

Freud arrived in and departed from Hoboken during the fall of 1909, on his trip to Worcester, Mass, to deliver five lectures at Clark University that would become critical to the broad the acceptance of his ideas about the mind and psychoanalysis.

The centennial commemoration of Freud’s American visit was organized by Professor John C. Burnham, of Ohio State University, and included a lecture delivered by Professor Burnham at Stevens on Sunday, September 20. “It was thoughtful and provocative,” said Professor James McClellan, former Dean of CAL and Professor of History, who also attended the Pier A ceremony.

Other events will take place at the Freud Museum in Vienna, where Freud lived much of his life, and at the Austrian Cultural Forum in Manhattan. According to Forum Director Andreas Stadler, the events celebrate Freud’s accomplishments and acknowledge that, despite his fame, he faced scorn in Austria and fled to England to escape the Nazis.

Dressed as an Edwardian gentleman of 1909, professional actor Benjamin Holmes read from Freud’s diaries of his trip, concluding with the well-known quip attributed to Freud, “Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar.”

Wali Abdul Salaam, chief of staff of the New Jersey Department of State delivered greetings from Governor Jon Corzine. Speaking on behalf of Hoboken Mayor Dawn Zimmer, Communications Director Paul Drexel said, “I am proud to commemorate Dr. Freud’s visit. One can only wonder if then Hoboken Mayor George Steil could have imagined its significance 100 years ago.”

About Stevens Institute of Technology

Founded in 1870 and celebrating 140 Years of Innovation, Stevens Institute of Technology, The Innovation University, is one of the leading technological universities in the world dedicated to learning and research. Through its broad-based curricula, nurturing of creative inventiveness, and cross disciplinary research, the Institute is at the forefront of global challenges in engineering, science, and technology management. Partnerships and collaboration between, and among, business, industry, government and other universities contribute to the enriched environment of the Institute. A new model for technology commercialization in academe, known as Technogenesis®, involves external partners in launching business enterprises to create broad opportunities and shared value.

Stevens offers baccalaureates, master’s and doctoral degrees in engineering, science, computer science and management, in addition to a baccalaureate degree in the humanities and liberal arts, and in business and technology. The university has a total enrollment of 2,234 undergraduate and 3,700 graduate students with more than 400 faculty. Stevens’ graduate programs have attracted international participation from China, India, Southeast Asia, Europe and Latin America. Additional information may be obtained from its web page at www.stevens.edu.

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