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ECOLOGICAL THOUGHT AT THE INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS OF ARTS AND SCIENCE, 1904 A Thesis Submitted to the College of Graduate Studies and Research In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements For the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy In the Department of History University of Saskatchewan Saskatoon By JENNIFER LEIGH HANSEN © Copyright Jennifer Leigh Hansen, January, 2017. All rights reserved. PERMISSION TO USE In presenting this thesis/dissertation in partial fulfillment of the requirements for a Postgraduate degree from the University of Saskatchewan, I agree that the Libraries of this University may make it freely available for inspection. I further agree that permission for copying of this thesis/dissertation in any manner, in whole or in part, for scholarly purposes may be granted by the professor or professors who supervised my thesis/dissertation work or, in their absence, by the Head of the Department or the Dean of the College in which my thesis work was done. It is understood that any copying or publication or use of this thesis/dissertation or parts thereof for financial gain shall not be allowed without my written permission. It is also understood that due recognition shall be given to me and to the University of Saskatchewan in any scholarly use which may be made of any material in my thesis/dissertation. Requests for permission to copy or to make other uses of materials in this thesis/dissertation in whole or part should be addressed to: Head of the Department of History 9 Campus Drive University of Saskatchewan Saskatoon, Saskatchewan S7N 5A5 Canada OR Dean College of Graduate Studies and Research University of Saskatchewan 107 Administration Place Saskatoon, Saskatchewan S7N 5A2 Canada i ABSTRACT Ecological thought shows remarkable continuity since 1800. Personal connections provide the groundwork for this cohesion. The emergence of ecological thought involved hundreds of individuals exchanging ideas through letters, publishing studies, and by participating in academic events. These links appear in sufficient numbers that it is clear ecology functioned as a vibrant network long before it was a viable scientific field. This dissertation examines ecological thought during the long nineteenth century, using the proceedings of the International Congress of Arts and Science, 1904 (ICAS) as an entry point. The ICAS was hosted during a universal fair that commemorated the Louisiana Purchase (1803). In light of the reflective atmosphere, participants were asked to comment on the development of their respective fields over the previous century and to explain to their audience how their fields related to contemporary science. This exercise provides historians with a unique primary source. The proceedings became, in effect, an accidental survey administered to leading scientists at the turn of the century concerning how academic science was practiced and who they considered to be the most important influences in their fields. Ecological thinking is evident in many of the life science presentations at the ICAS, and studying the proceedings constitutes an excellent opportunity to better understand and appreciate how ecological thinking became a force in modern Western society. ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS First and foremost, my thanks goes to my supervisor, Dr. Bill Waiser, for his ongoing guidance and unfailing good humour. I am indebted to my dissertation committee for the expertise and positive support they have provided. Dr. Martha Smith-Norris served as my Graduate Director, my boss, and a committee member for the past two years. Dr. Larry Stewart, my former MA advisor, contributed extensive advice and direction during the research phase. Dr. Dan Pennock offered fresh insights and much-needed confidence. Many thanks go to Dr. Melanie Frappier for serving as the external examiner and offering a close reading and helpful commentary. I would like to acknowledge the staff at the following archives for their assistance: The National Archives at Kew, The London Metropolitan Archives, the Bodleian Libraries at Oxford University, the National Archives of Scotland, and Archive Services at the University of Glasgow. I would also like to express my appreciation to the staff at Interlibrary Loans at the University of Saskatchewan, and offer a special thanks to Nadine Penner with the College of Arts and Science for her assistance in completing the administrative requirements of the program. Financial assistance was received from a Social Sciences and Humanities Research Doctoral Fellowship, a College of Graduate Studies Dean’s Scholarship, and Research Fellowships and travel bursaries through the Department of History. My personal network includes many colleagues from the Department of History, past and present, that have offered community, friendship, and support. Kim, Jillian, Mandy, Merle, and Marley, I am grateful for the many hours of coffee and commiseration. Finally, my family is my world and my foundation. Many thanks to my father, Ted, and my children, Emma, Katherine, and Simon, for their considerable patience and understanding during this process. Above all, I would like to acknowledge my mother, Elly Hansen (nee Wudrick), who grew up German in the West but was for a long time discouraged from exploring that heritage. Her support for me in this undertaking, and everything else, has been overwhelming. This one is for you, Mum. iii CONTENTS page PERMISSION TO USE i ABSTRACT ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS iii CONTENTS iv FIGURES v ACRONYMS vi CHAPTER ONE Social History of Ecology: Framework and Overview 1 CHAPTER TWO The Accident Survey 18 CHAPTER THREE 1804: The Origins of Ecology 56 CHAPTER FOUR 1859: The Origin and Ecology 80 CHAPTER FIVE 1904: Ecology by Any Other Name? 101 CHAPTER SIX History and Ecology 126 CHAPTER SEVEN Conclusion 148 APPENDIX A Participants in the International Congress of Arts and Science, St. Louis, September 1904 156 APPENDIX B Social Framework for a Subset of the Early Ecology Network 180 BIBLIOGRAPHY 193 iv FIGURES Figure 2.1. The aviary at the Louisiana Purchase Exposition, 1904 18 Figure 2.2. Festival Hall, 1904 19 Figure 2.3. German pavilion, Louisiana Purchase Exposition, 1904 28 Figure 2.4. Tyrolean style village, Louisiana Purchase Exposition 29 Figure 2.5. Canadian pavilion, Louisiana Purchase Exposition, 1904 32 Figure 2.6. Simon Newcomb, President of the ICAS 38 Figure 2.7. Ten largest cohorts of delegates at the ICAS, 1904 41 Figure 2.8. National affiliation of major institutions represented at the ICAS, 1904 41 Figure 2.9. Münsterberg and Newcomb presiding at the ICAS, 1904 46 Figure 2.10. Grand reception for the ICAS participants 48 Figure 2.11. Migration patterns of the ICAS participants 50 Figure 3.1. The five phases of early ecology based on Drude’s schematic 62 Figure 4.1. Asa Gray’s connection with Charles Darwin and Joseph Dalton Hooker 91 Figure 4.2. Asa Gray’s impact on early ecology 99 Figure 5.1. Benjamin Lincoln Robinson 102 Figure 5.2. Oscar Drude 105 Figure 5.3. Alfred Giard 108 Figure 6.1. Frederick Jackson Turner and the Robinsons within the early ecology network 143 Figure 6.2. Cultural exposure of delegates at the ICAS, 1904 146 Figure 7.1. Hugo Münsterberg at the ICAS, 1904 152 Figure B.1 Subsection of the early ecology network, showing density 180 Figure B.2 Subsection of the early ecology network in its social framework 181 v ACRONYMS AAAS American Association for the Advancement of Science BAAS British Association for the Advancement of Science FR Francs GBP British Pound GHGs Greenhouse Gas Emissions GSL Geological Society of London ICAS International Congress of Arts and Science, 1904 IGS International Geographical Society IPCC Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change LPE Louisiana Purchase Exposition ℳ German Goldmark USA United States of America USD United States Dollars USDA United States Department of Agriculture vi Here it is time to pause and reflect. The events about to be chronicled, so charged with genuine enthusiasm and earnest aspirations at the time of their happening, are not only obscured but distorted when looked at in the light of the time of the present writing. Enthusiasm turns to irony, ideals into empty bubbles. It is the task of the humblest historian, however, to present the past untarnished by the events that followed. -Hugo Münsterberg, “The Scientific Plan of the Congress” vii CHAPTER ONE HISTORY OF ECOLOGY: FRAMEWORK AND OVERVIEW Ecology is a social creature. Birthed in a specific historical and geographical context, it has adapted and transmutated over time. In the broadest sense, ecological thought takes several forms. Scientific ecology, the study of interactions among organisms (including humans) and their environment, is an interdisciplinary field that incorporates aspects of biology, geography, and geology. The studies often inform political discussion of environmental topics, such as biodiversity and climate change. Ecologists may be politically-oriented individuals, but do not see their field as an inherently political discipline. Ecologism, by contrast, is a political ideology that takes the position that the non-human world is worthy of moral consideration and should be reflected in social, economic, and political systems. Like scientific ecology, ecologism can be studied at the academic level, but its home is typically the philosophy department rather than within the sciences. Environmentalism, by contrast, is a social movement that is concerned with protection and / or rehabilitation of the global environment. The intellectual divisions within ecological thought are contentious. What constituted an apolitical position on climate change forty years ago, for example, looks very different since the rise of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). The multiplicity of approaches within the ecological world view is often mistakenly presumed to have emerged out of an explosion of environmental thought and political discourse during the second half of the twentieth century. On the contrary, methodological and philosophical diversity has been a feature of ecological thought since its inception, near the beginning of the nineteenth century. Personal connections provide the cohesion for the discipline.