Module Information

Historians are generally agreed that the practices we now recognize as science emerged out of natural philosophy during the nineteenth century. New disciplines appeared, new institutions were established and men of science were increasingly recognized as forming a distinct profession with their own particular concerns and interests. Victorian Britain was an important locus for these developments. This module examines the emergence of Victorian science as a highly localized and context dependent process. There was no homogenous consolidation of a new profession. Rather, different individuals and groups of individuals in a range of places battled to carve out institutional spaces for themselves and their practices. What counted as Victorian science was therefore deeply contested. This module invites students to investigate the importance of place ? geographical location ? in establishing scientific authority. They will need to become familiar with Victorian debates about just who should practice science and where they should do it, as well as recent historiography concerning the local nature of scientific knowledge. Victorian science has been the focus of increasing historical scrutiny over the past two decades and there is as a result a wealth of relevant literature as well as a range of increasingly accessible research resources. By focussing on the importance of science in its place, the module will also introduce students to contemporary concerns surrounding the identity of the knowledge-maker, in terms of class, gender and ethnicity.

The module will introduce students to current historiographical concerns in the history of Victorian science and to contemporary debates concerning the importance of geographical place in the construction of scientific knowledge. Students will be introduced to a range of primary sources as well as to relevant secondary literature.