Department of Science and Technology Studies

HPSC3050 Science in Nineteenth Century London

Syllabus

Session 2014-15 Web site www.ucl.ac.uk/sts/3050 Moodle site moodle.ucl.ac.uk/course/view.php?id=4923 Timetable or

Description

The nineteenth century experienced a tremendous expansion of science. This module explores that expansion through the lens of popularization, public engagement, and presentation. We cover a variety of settings, including museums, lecture halls, publishing devices, parlours, and private collections. We also cover a variety of communities and types of activities, including professional societies, amateur clubs, working men’s clubs, and ephemeral consumer activity. How did the many venues come together to create an integrated world in which science was experienced? How do historians relate science in public to science done elsewhere? Do STS analytical tools and concepts help us understand historical activity related to science in public? This module includes visits to some of the surviving attractions of nineteenth century science.

Key Information

Assessment 100% essay (5,000 words) Prerequisites none Required texts readings listed below

HPSC3050 Science in Nineteenth Century London 2014-15 syllabus

Module tutors

Module tutor Professor Joe Cain Contact [email protected] | t: 020 7679 3041 Web www.ucl.ac.uk/sts/cain Office location 22 Gordon Square, Room 1.3 Office hours: 12:00-13:00 Mondays and Thursdays

Aims and objectives aims

As an advanced module, HPSC3050 pursues several kinds of goals. First, this is a module about the history of science and technology. This includes not only the substance of science, but also the people, places, contexts and consequences that surround and help to shape the course of events. Time is strictly limited in this module, so we’ve made some choices about how to focus the curriculum. Content aims are straightforward: • identify key themes in 19thC science, both content and historiography • survey patterns of popularization, public engagement, and presentation in the 19thC, and relate this survey to other periods • consider how London functioned as a landscape for 19thC science; • study this period in an integrated way, combining written sources, material artifacts, physical geography, and cultural geography Primary sources make up much of the required readings. The aim is to promote a direct encounter with the activity in this period. Students are expected to further develop their skills working with original source materials: critical reading of testimony and evidence, plus critical reflection on their interpretation and extension. They also will be expected to develop further research skills to integrate archives, museum collections, and digital resources. The nineteenth century is a subject given considerable attention in English-speaking academic communities. The secondary literature is enormous. This module will use secondary sources to elaborate particular themes as well as to drive interpretation in particular directions. One aim is to introduce some of the main themes in this body of literature. Another aim is to further develop the ability to assess interpretative work and relate evidence to interpretations, and vice versa. The teaching method for this module during contact hours will be lectures and in-class discussions. A schedule of independent reading and research also is set. Module assessment is integrated into this programme of study. objectives

Knowledge By the end of this module students should be able to: • demonstrate key themes in 19thC science, both content and historiography • demonstrate an ability to research historical topics, including collecting and assessing primary sources, relating primary sources to historiographical themes, testing historiographical arguments, and developing relational points. • demonstrate an understanding of geographical enablers and constraints as they apply to 19thC London

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• demonstrate professional-level research skills that integrate archives, museum collections, and digital resources Transferrable and Key Skills By the end of this module students should be able to: • demonstrate the ability to critically interpret both primary and secondary sources • demonstrate skill in historical reasoning and comparative analysis • demonstrate skill collecting primary materials relevant to the 19thC • relate geographic and architectural knowledge to other types of historical artifacts • approach new material in this course’s domain from a historical perspective and with a critical historian's eye • demonstrate critical analysis of science communication and public engagement over a variety of venues

Module plan

Student responsibilities in this module will revolve around three components: lectures, a project, and an examination. lecture

A lecture schedule is set. Lectures are related to specific required reading. Lectures critically survey key content and historiography relevant to each themes. This also includes discussions of set readings. Students are encouraged to come to lecture having read and reflected on readings set for the lecture. Specific discussions will be announced in advance. Additional readings and Web sites are suggested for continued investigation of module topics. I expect students to actively engage module themes. essay

One essay is set for HPSC3050, not to exceed 5,000 words. This essay contributes 100% of the final module mark. See separate guidance for expectations. examination

This module has no examination.

Schedule

This schedule lists topics for class sessions. Most materials are available via Moodle, as are instructions for what I’d like you to prepare prior to the session. The activities here consist of (1) sites, which as locations in London we’ll use as an organizing tool; perhaps, you’ll want to visit them at some point during your studies, (2) seminars, which indicate the readings I want you to be prepared to discuss, and (3) secondary, which are secondary sources of particular value to the session and which can serve to support the discussion and any related research you might undertake. I expect you to come to each session prepared to engage the seminar material, but not the secondary material. Also on the schedule are due dates related to the assessment and dates for optional activities undertaken by the department that are related to the module.

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UCLwk Date Topic Activity 06 02 Oct Science in 19thC London Site: UCL and Bloomsbury Seminar: UoL ([1826, 1828] 1991), UCL (1927) 07 09 Oct Great Exhibitions Site: Crystal Palace Park Seminar: CPC (1871), AJ (1851), Hunt (1851) Secondary: Bellon (2007) 08 16 Oct Deep Time Site: Natural History Museum Seminar: Mantell (1851: front to p20, 74-80, 202-223), Owen (1862) Secondary: Torrens (1995), Rudwick (2000) 19 Oct Due Plan (10%) upload to Moodle before 24:00 09 22 Oct How do you make a Site: Royal Geographical Society scientist? Seminar: Galton (1872) Meet in South Wing Secondary: Bellon (2001), Waller (2001) room 23 10 29 Oct Professionals and Site: Linnean Society Amateurs Seminar: Babbage (1830), Tyndall (1874) Secondary: Davies (2008), Alberti (2001), Barton (1990) 05 Nov Due Prospectus (10%) upload to Moodle before 24:00 11 06 Nov Reading Week No lectures 12 13 Nov Bridges, Canals, Docks Site: Museum of London Docklands Seminar: Roscoe ([1839]: 1-48), Smith (1825), Marryat (1823) Secondary: TBC 15 Nov Optional event Visit to Maritime Greenwich: Thames River cruise Queen’s House National Maritime Museum Royal Observatory, Greenwich 13 20 Nov Empire Site: Royal Observatory, Greenwich Seminar: TBC Secondary: Headrick (1988), Secord (2004) 14 27 Nov Food and Stuff Site: Royal Botanic Gardens Kew and Cutty Sark Seminar: Carey (1814) Secondary: Hobhouse (1985: 95-137), MoL (2014) 15 04 Dec Reading and viewing Site: British Museum Reading Room Seminar: Chambers (1844), Sedgwick (1845) Secondary: Wikipedia (2014) 06 Dec Optional event Visit to Oxford: Oxford Museum of Natural History Museum of the History of Science 08 Dec Due Draft (0%) upload to Moodle before 24:00 16 11 Dec Popular, public science Site: Royal Institution of Great Britain Seminar: Waterhouse Hawkins (1854), Faraday ([1861]) Secondary: Hunt (1991) 18 Dec Due Final submission (80%) upload to Moodle before 24:00 27 Apr Due Rewrite upload to Moodle before 24:00 Day 1 Term 3

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Assessment summary

Description Deadline Word limit CW Coursework see schedule 5000 words coursework

For the coursework, you have several options. Select one. Essays must be submitted via Moodle. In extremis, e-mail your essay to Prof Cain by the deadline. 1. Argue for or against one of these claims: • Scientists were complicit in perpetuating slavery during the 19thC. • Women benefitted from the professionalization of science. • Science was good for business. Use one of these cases: brewing, communication, fashion, travel. • Phrenology and mesmerism helped scientists define themselves. • Science made the Crimean War (1853-1856) worse. • Science was one way military officers became gentlemen. • Scientists became celebrities in the 19thC. Use one of these cases: Humphry Davy, Michael Faraday, Isambard Kingdom Brunel. • Science was on display at the 1851 Great Exhibition. • Pigeon fancying? There’s no science in 19thC pigeon fancying. 2. Add to the biography of one person associated with the discovery of dinosaurs and other pre-Adamite beasts in Britain, 1800-1850. Choose from one of these: • Mary Anning • William Buckland • Richard Owen • Gideon Mantell • William Conybeare 3. Science became part of London's tourist landscape in the 19thC. Select a decade and investigate the advice and opportunities tourists had for visiting or engaging science while in the metropolis. 4. Some institutions that played a key role in 19thC science have largely disappeared from popular memory. Investigate one and develop a view as to its significance in their most important period. Use one of these cases: Egyptian House, Museum of Economic Geology, or Royal Geographical Society. 5. James Tennant was a mineralogist whose career combined academic and commercial science in London. Investigate. plan for assessment A paper carrying this weight cannot be produced at the last minute. This module follows a plan for the tutor to assist with the research, thinking, and time management. The plan builds-in formative assessment and relatively light benchmarks to check progress. The writing plan follows a developmental sequence: • plan – (10%) A plan should identify the research question and present a preliminary inventory of resources to be used. A plan looks to the future and is speculative in nature. It should demonstrate effort towards dissecting the research problem, identifying elements that seem straightforward versus those that may require extra effort. It’s fine to identify elements where advice will be needed, too. My expectations for a plan are in the range of 750 words in outline form, plus an annotated bibliography listing primary sources and essential secondary sources, with annotations to identify why they might be useful. I would expect the

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sources to be filtered at this point, but I would not expect they’d be closely read. Your goal should be to show you have a focus and a starting point. You can expect formative assessment that points you to resources and relevant secondary material. • prospectus – (10%) A prospectus should demonstrate your research is gaining specificity and clarity: what are you going to argue, what’s your plan for working through the task. The project will be a long way from completion, but you should demonstrate you’ve done sufficient work at this point to show a direction of travel. Some elements will be more-or-less done except for the writing up, but some elements will still be speculative. You should show you’re gaining a grasp of the primary material, and you should show you’re in conversation with secondary material more than simply extracting information. You can expect formative assessment that helps you focus and points you to highly relevant additional material. • draft – (0%) – A draft is not marked, but it should be worth reading. I’m expecting solid writing something in the range of 50-70% percent at length, incomplete, sketchy in places, with notes on where I can be most helpful. For those drafts I receive on time, I will turn around comments within a few days. The most substantial the draft, the more useful my comments will be. No extensions for this deadline. • final submission – (80%) This will be the complete, polished research paper. Criteria for assessment will be provided. • rewrite – students may submit a rewrite of their final submission provided it was a serious attempt and submitted prior to the deadline. The expectation is that a rewrite offers a substantial improvement over the final submission, and rewrites with only trivial or superficial changes will receive no change in marks. Students submitting rewrites are strongly advised to discuss their plan with me well in advance of the deadline. Normally, discrete marks only will be awarded for the plan and prospectus are: solid pass (receiving a mark of 80), basic pass (60), and bare pass (40), condonable fail (20) or uncondonable fail (0). Exceptions will be explained as they arise. supporting information I encourage you to discuss your essay with me well in advance of the due date. Best to e-mail and make an appointment. Your research must include primary sources. Citations should follow my guidance, both for printed and Web sources. Links to both are on the module Web site. The type of assessment sheet I use while marking essays is available via the module Web site, for guidance purposes. Marks generally follow the departmental criteria for assessment. In sum, essays will be assessed on the following terms: • depth of scholarship and use of resources beyond those in lecture and required reading • ability to identify both major and subtle points of the subject • extent of your critical assessment • evidence you provide for having reflected on and extended module content and themes • general scholarly presentation of the work performed My most common criticisms on student essays relate to: • too much description/summary of readings and not enough analysis • not developing your own argument • no evidence of independent research • terrible organisation and poor referencing techniques • poor choice of sources (such as the Encyclopaedia Britannica or Wikipedia)

Reading list

This is a complete list of readings, which are sourced via Moodle.

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AJ. 1851. Industry of All Nations Exhibition: The Art Journal Illustrated Catalogue. London: The Art Journal. Alberti, Samuel. 2001. "Amateurs and Professionals in One County: Biology and Natural History in Late Victorian Yorkshire." Journal of the History of Biology 34:115-147. Babbage, Charles. 1830. Reflections on the Decline of Science in England, and on Some of its Causes. London: Fellowes. Barton, Ruth. 1990. "An Influential Set of Chaps: The X-Club and Royal Society Politics, 1864-85." British Journal for the History of Science 23:53-81. Bellon, Richard. 2001. "Joseph Dalton Hooker’s Ideals for a Professional Man of Science." Journal of the History of Biology 34 (1):51-82. Bellon, Richard. 2007. "Science at the Crystal Focus of the World." In Science in the Marketplace: Nineteenth-Century Sites and Experiences, edited by Aileen Fyfe and Bernard Lightman, 301-335. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Carey, William. 1814. "Introduction." In Hortus Bengalensis, or a catalogue of the plants growing in the honourable East India Company’s botanic garden at Calcutta, edited by William Roxburgh, i-xii. Calcutta: Mission Press. Chambers, Robert. 1844. Vestiges of the Natural History of Creation. London: John Churchill. CPC. 1871. Crystal Palace: Guide to the Palace and Park London: Crystal Palace Company. Davies, Owen. 2008. "“To the Honour and Advantage of the Navy” – Exploring the Admiralty Manual of Scientific Enquiry." MSc, London Centre for the History of Science, Technology, and Medicine (University of London), University of London. Faraday, Michael. [1861]. The Chemical History of a Candle. London: Chatto and Windus. Galton, Francis. 1872. "Statistical Enquiries into the Efficacy of Prayer." Fortnightly Review 68:125- 135. Galton, Francis. 1906. "Cutting a round cake on scientific principles." Nature 75:173. Headrick, Daniel 1988. The Tentacles of Progress : Technology Transfer in the Age of Imperialism, 1850-1940: Technology Transfer in the Age of Imperialism, 1850-1940. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Hobhouse, Henry. 1985. Seeds of Change: Five Plants that Transformed Mankind. London: PaperMac. Hunt, Bruce. 1991. "Michael Faraday, cable telegraphy and the rise of field theory." History of Technology 13:1-19. Hunt, Robert. 1851. "The Science of the Great Exhibition." In Industry of All Nations Exhibition: The Art Journal Illustrated Catalogue, edited by AJ. London: The Art Journal. Mantell, Gideon. 1851. Petrifactions and Their Teachings, or A Hand-Book to the Gallery of Organic Remains. London: Henry G. Bohn. Marryat, Joseph. 1823. Observations on the Application of the West India Dock Company for a Renewal of their Charter. London: J.M. Richardson. MoL. 2014. "London, Sugar, and Slavery [exhibition]." Museum of London Accessed 30 September. http://archive.museumoflondon.org.uk/LSS/. Owen, Richard. 1862. On the Extent and Aims of a National Museum of Natural History. London: Saunders, Otley and Co. Roscoe, Thomas. [1839]. The London and Birmingham Railway; with the Home and Country Scenes on Each Side of the Line. London: Charles Tilt. Rudwick, Martin. 2000. "Georges Cuvier's paper museum of fossil bones." Archives of Natural History 27 (1):51-68.

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Secord, James A. 2004. "Knowledge in Transit." Isis 95 (4):654-672. Sedgwick, Adam. 1845. "Review of Vestiges." Edinburgh Review 82 (July):1-85. Smith, William. 1825. The Thames tunnel [a description of the projected tunnel]. London: not listed. Torrens, Hugh. 1995. "Mary Anning (1799-1847) of Lyme; 'The Greatest Fossilist the World Ever Knew'." The British Journal for the History of Science 28 (3):257-284. Tyndall, John. 1874. Address Delivered Before the British Association Assembled at Belfast, With Additions. London: Longmans, Green, and Co. UCL. 1927. An Outline of the History of the Botanical Department of University College, London. London: Botanical Department. UoL. [1826, 1828] 1991. "UoL 1826 University of London Prospectus, with medical classes 1828 File " In The Wrold of UCL 1828-1990, edited by Negley Harte and John North, 17-19, 32. London: University College London. Waller, John. 2001. "Gentlemanly Men of Science: Sir Francis Galton and the Professionalization of the British Life-Sciences." Journal of the History of Biology 34 (1):83-114. Waterhouse Hawkins, Benjamin. 1854. "On Visual Education As Applied to Geology, Illustrated By Diagrams and Models of the Geological Restorations at the Crystal Palace." Journal of the Society of Arts 2 (78):443-449. Wikipedia. 2014. "Vestiges of the Natural History of Creation." Accessed 30 September. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vestiges_of_the_Natural_History_of_Creation.

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