Abstract
Hermann August Niemeyer (1754-1828) was certainly one of the most important pedagogue of his time. Although his work is little known, if not completely forgotten, it exercised a longlasting and significant influence on 19th century German education and pedagogical thinking. Niemeyer was the author of over one hundred books and brochures. His publications were circulated throughout Europe and were instrumental in shaping new views on and conceptions of pedagogy. He gave an overview of his thought in Grundsätze der Erziehung und des Unterrichts für Eltern, Hauslehrer und Erzieher (HALLE, 1796), a book he considered as a “comprehensive pedagogical survey” and which soon became a bestseller in Europe. This contribution wants to shed light on the reception of this major work in France and French-speaking part of Switzerland. Niemeyer was the main proponent of German eclectism. In 1925, in the aftermath of the creation of the International Bureau of Education in Geneva, Pedro Rossello designated Marc-Antoine Jullien as “the father of comparative education”. But the Grundsätze and their reception outside the German states suggest that the tradition of Comparative pedagogy has, in fact, earlier roots.
Keywords:
Hermann August Niemeyer; Germany; comparative education; cultural transfer; circulation of knowledge; history of european pedagogy; europeocentrism