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SUMMARY:Natural history and the antiquarian - Boris Jardine (Department of
  History and Philosophy of Science)
DTSTART:20170227T130000Z
DTEND:20170227T140000Z
UID:TALK69764@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Edwin Rose
DESCRIPTION:The second half of the nineteenth century saw the rise of the 
 'New Museum Idea'\, a widespread increase in mass-audience museums contain
 ing both large research departments and extensive public galleries. The id
 ea was given brick-and-mortar form in Cambridge on the 'New Museums Site' 
 – the present home of HPS and former home of a suite of museums ranging 
 across the sciences. In seeking to understand the development of these mus
 eums\, and the revolution in university education to which they were tied\
 , it is necessary to look at (at least) three things: the nature of their 
 collections\, the professional identity of their curators\, and the intell
 ectual agenda that united them. In this talk I explore the role of antiqua
 rianism and local history in the shaping of collections of natural specime
 ns. Antiquarianism\, I argue\, acted at once as a filter through which eve
 r-growing collections could be passed and interpreted\, and a robust socia
 l identity that could justify and even mask the radical nature of the new 
 museums.
LOCATION:Seminar Room 1\, Department of History and Philosophy of Science
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