Politics of the Living. A Study on the Emergence and Reception of the Cell Theory in France and Germany, ca. 1800-1900

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The aim of this project is to shed a new light on the development of thecell theory in the 19th century, in France and Germany. One part of theproject will investigate the pre-history of central categories of thecell theory such as individuality,universality, the analogy betweenorganism and the state, between 1800 and 1839 and from aGerman-French perspective. The other part will study the reception ofthe cell theory in France between 1838 and 1900 by focusing on twoscientific centers, Strasbourg and Paris, and by studying interactionsbetween various fields of knowledge like botany, physiology, medicineand sociology. The main issue of the project is to explore theintertwined links between the cell theory and its political contexts. Weconsider these links as reciprocal relationships through which neworders of nature and politics were symmetrically constructed. By meansof transnational and transdisciplinary comparisons, the French-Germancollaboration will retrieve differences and similarities betweendifferent political and philosophical concepts, epistemic schemes andresearch practices that shaped the emergence and development of the celltheory. Last but not least, the comparative approach will enhance thedialogue between French and German historians of science.