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SUMMARY:Hearsay\, gossip\, misapprehension: Alfred Newton's second-hand hi
 stories of extinction - Amelia Urry (University of Cambridge)
DTSTART:20210503T120000Z
DTEND:20210503T130000Z
UID:TALK160210@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Joanne Green
DESCRIPTION:The study of extinction was rooted in Victorian practices of o
 bservation and collection\, but presented a challenge to the discipline's 
 increasing emphasis on empiricism and precision. This paper traces the rol
 e of witness testimony and hearsay accounts in early studies of extinction
  in the notebooks of Cambridge zoology professor\, Alfred Newton. Beginnin
 g in 1850s\, Newton and his collaborators sought to trace the histories of
  species suspected to be extinct\, such as the British great bustard and t
 he great auk of Iceland. With its subjects absent by definition\, the stud
 y of extinction relied heavily on hearsay and rumour\, as well as evidence
  gleaned from past published accounts. Through his methodical attempts to 
 collate diverse and contradictory sources\, from eyewitnesses to newspaper
 s to local folklore and gossip\, Newton demonstrated the inextricability o
 f human and social concerns from the practice of studying extinction. Thes
 e attempts to resolve this social evidence into scientific certainty were 
 time and again frustrated by the uncertain epistemic status of his sources
 .
LOCATION:Zoom
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