Doctoral Dissertation Research: Technological Wonder: The Theatrical Fashioning of Scientific Knowledge, 1838-1905

Northwestern University, Evanston IL

Investigators

Abstract

This dissertation project is a historical study of popular scientific communication, focusing on the dissemination of scientific theories and technological innovations through lectures, mechanical magic shows, and theatrical performances in nineteenth-century Britain. Performances of science and technologies were often put on display within exhibition halls, universities, museums, and theatres, utilizing theatrical techniques of spectacle to attract the wider public. Carried out under the supervision of Dr. Tracy Davis and Dr. Kenneth Alder, Ms. Aileen Robinson will explore how these performances fashioned orientations towards scientific theories and technological innovations for non-specialist audiences. This project will provide historical grounding for contemporary Anglo-American popular science communication. Examining nineteenth-century public performance will assist researchers in uniting science and theatrical practice for public benefit. Understanding the importance of science in the midst of media, such as theatre, can pave the way towards communicating and developing refined methods of non-specialist communication, such as in theatrical presentations of the history of science or university science programming for all majors.