Geographical Projections: Lantern slides, science and popular geography, 1860-1960

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

In recent years scholars have shown the significance of visual technologies - including museums, lectures, exhibitions and photography - in the making of scientific knowledge. Studies have considered, for example: how visual evidence in maps, drawings and photographs was used to create authority within science; the roles of photography in the making and dissemination of geographical and anthropological knowledge; and debates over photographic evidence within nineteenth-century science. Little scholarly attention, however, has been paid to the widespread use of glass lantern slides from the 1860s in the creation, circulation and collection of forms of scientific knowledge. From the 1860s onwards lantern slide shows became hugely popular forms of entertainment and education, catering to an increasing hunger for visual imagery (particularly photographs) in the age of empire, mass communication, science and modernity. Many lantern slides, from amateur makers and professional studios, catered in some way to the taste amongst Western audiences for photographs of exotic sites and scenes. While some scholars have begun to examine the social, aesthetic and technological aspects of lantern slides, few have considered their significance as forms of popular geography, and scant attention has been paid to how slides were actually made, circulated and displayed within networks of geographical science and education. This collaborative doctoral project, between the University of Exeter and the Royal Geographical Society (with IBG) (RGS-IBG), focuses on the RGS-IBG collection of lantern slides. While much of the collection has been cleaned, catalogued and conserved, no detailed, critical research has yet been done on this significant archive of (approximately 20,000) slides. This collaborative research project, focusing on the unique RGS-IBG collections, will examine the place of lantern slides within geographical institutions, ideas and practices, from their beginnings in the 1860s to their decline in the next century in the face of competition from film and 35mm slides. The overall aim of the project is to locate geographical lantern slides within their wider cultural, historical and setting in order to better understand their attractions and attendant meanings. In particular, the project aims to examine how lantern slides were used to make and communicate geographical knowledge to different audiences; to locate lantern slides within wider settings of science, commerce and entertainment; to examine how lantern slides were actually used as objects as well as how they were viewed as projected images. Analysing lantern slides alongside associated records, correspondence and contemporary publications (focusing on RGS-IBG archives but also using parallel UK collections), the project will explore how lantern slides were employed to convey particular forms of geographical information, how they circulated within geographical circles and how different audiences responded to them. It will also consider how technology and location affected audiences' attitudes, perceptions and expectations. In the process this doctoral research will contribute to debates across various academic fields including the history of technology; historical and cultural geography; history and sociology of science; visual culture and cultural history. This research project also has strong potential to impact on other audiences. It will work with RGS-IBG staff to generate better knowledge and understanding of the RGS-IBG lantern slide collection, and potentially to develop further projects of research and impact. Through planned dissemination strategies, including displays, presentations and publication (including contribution to the Geographical Magazine, and on-line material) the project will open up this unique visual archive to wider audiences, including RGS-IB