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SUMMARY:Tuning into nature in interwar Britain: biology and natural histor
 y on the BBC - Max Long (Faculty of History)
DTSTART:20201123T130000Z
DTEND:20201123T140000Z
UID:TALK131758@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Joanne Green
DESCRIPTION:The history of science in the mass media of early 20th-century
  Britain remains relatively unexplored. In particular\, the place of radio
  within a broader assemblage of mass media technologies\, including print 
 and film\, deserves closer attention. Science broadcasts were fundamental 
 to the BBC's commitment to 'public service broadcasting'\, and programmes 
 about natural history\, biology and agriculture appeared frequently on the
  BBC's schedule practically from its inception.\n\nNatural history broadca
 sts were an ideal vehicle for education and were often the focus of childr
 en's programmes and School Broadcasts. Of these\, David Seth-Smith's 'Zoo 
 Man' features were perhaps the most popular. The BBC's output during this 
 time also included adult talks about the life sciences by Julian Huxley\, 
 J. Arthur Thompson\, Charles Elton and E. Kay Robinson\, among many others
 . On some occasions\, these broadcasts sought to experiment with the possi
 bilities offered by new technologies\, such as Ludwig Koch's birdsong reco
 rdings\, or the cellist Beatrice Harrison's famous nightingale broadcasts.
 \n\nThis paper argues that these broadcasts\, which reached millions of li
 steners every week\, were an indispensable feature of the cultural space o
 ccupied by the life sciences in interwar Britain. Situating scientific kno
 wledge as an indispensable characteristic of modern citizenship\, they hel
 ped to shore up late-imperial Britain's self-styled scientific hegemony. B
 y selecting representative examples of natural history and biology broadca
 sts from interwar Britain\, this paper will explore how scientific knowled
 ge was produced and circulated on radio at this time.
LOCATION:Zoom
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