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SUMMARY:Language Games in the Periphery of European Chemistry - Karoliina 
 Pulkkinen (HPS)
DTSTART:20180501T121000Z
DTEND:20180501T130000Z
UID:TALK104380@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Dr Arthur Dudney
DESCRIPTION:A.E.Arppe (1818-1890) was a professor of chemistry and a recto
 r of the of Imperial Alexander University in Helsinki\, the new capital of
  the Great Duchy of Finland. In the course of his rectorship\, Arppe commi
 ssioned a new chemical laboratory for the University. Built at a time of a
  famine that killed 1/10th of population of the Duchy\, this venetian-styl
 e building – now known as Arppeanum – was both admired for its beauty 
 and criticised for its lavishness. \n\nIn this talk\, I adopt Arppe and th
 e chemical laboratory as my focal points for examining languages in chemis
 try in 19th century Finland. I argue that Arppe’s command of several lan
 guages and his successful navigation of the language politics of the Great
  Duchy of Finland allowed him to improve the conditions of chemistry at ho
 me. \n\nAfter the Finnish war\, Finland became part of Russian Empire\, ma
 king Finnish the majority language within a formerly Swedish area. However
 \, Swedish remained the language of educated elite throughout 19th Century
 . The students of chemistry were expected to master not only Swedish and s
 ome Russian\, but also English\, German\, French and Latin (Enkvist 1972\,
  22). Arppe’s knowledge of languages paved his way to the most influenti
 al laboratories in Europe. Upon his return back home\, it came clear that 
 he also had a good command of languages in another sense: Arppe’s intric
 ate balancing of the language conflict in Finland meant that he secure a f
 avourable position under the Russian authorities\, and a push for a labora
 tory inspired by the European facilities he had visited. 
LOCATION:The Richard King Room\, Darwin College
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