Visual Cultures in Science and Technology: A Comparative History

by Klaus Hentschel

Overview

This book aims to provide a synthesis of the history, generation, use, and transfer of images in scientific practice. It delves into the rich reservoir of case studies on visual representations in scientific and technological practice that have accumulated over the past couple of decades by historians, sociologists, and philosophers of science. The main aim is thus located on the meta-level. It adopts an integrative view of recurrently noted general features of visual cultures in science and technology, something hitherto unachieved and believed by many to be a mission impossible.

By systematic comparison of numerous case studies, the purview broadens away from myopic microanalysis in search of overriding patterns. The many different disciplines and research areas involved encompass mathematics, technology, natural history, medicine, the geosciences, astronomy, chemistry, and physics. The chosen examples span the period from the Renaissance to the late 20th century. The broad range of visual representations in scientific practice is treated, as well as schooling in pattern recognition, design and implementation of visual devices, and a narrowing in on the special role of illustrators and image specialists.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780198717874
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
Publication date:	12/30/2014
Pages:	512
Product dimensions:	6.80(w) x 9.90(h) x 1.50(d)

About the Author

Klaus Hentschel, Head of Section for the History of Science & Technology, History Department, Stuttgart University

Prior to his current full professorship in the history of science and technology at the University of Stuttgart, Klaus Hentschel was a Lecturer/Researcher at the Universities of Berlin, Gottingen and Berne, a Fellow at the Dibner Institute for the History of Science & Technology at MIT in Cambridge, Massachusetts 1996/97 and Ernst Cassirer Guest Professor at the University of Hamburg 2003.

Table of Contents

1. Introduction2. Historiographic layers of visual science cultures3. Formation of visual science cultures4. Pioneers of visual science cultures5. Transfer of visual techniques6. Support by illustrators and image technicians7. One image rarely comes alone8. Practical training in visual skills9. Mastery of pattern recognition10. Visual thinking in scientic and technological practice11. Recurrent color taxonomies12. Aesthetic fascination as a visual culture's binding glue13. Issues of visual perception14. Visuality through and through

Editorial Reviews

Shortlisted for the 2016 BSHS Pickstone Prize

"This fine work is a survey of the history, use, and function of the image in the practice of science. ... The book is very readable, amply illustrated, and carefully documented; the biography alone exceeds 80 pages. Highly recommended." — Choice

"A very useful synthesis of the study of the history and historiography of visual representation in the early modern and modern periods up to the late 20th century within the Western tradition" — Renzo Baldasso, Centaurus

"The spotlight that Hentschel casts on members of the latter group, a diverse cast of woodcutters, illustrators, illuminators, and other technicians, is a particular strength of the book." — Evan Hepler-Smith, Historical Studies in the Natural Sciences

"A timely but colossal endeavour to take stock of the literature on visual cultures of science ... He has written a work that operates both as a major resource, friendly to those who want to merely dip in and out, and as a major scholarly contribution with a sustained argument about what constitutes visual cultures in science. Indeed, Hentschel must be congratulated on a fine contribution, one that actually gives much-needed shape to the field of visual cultures and the sciences." — Omar W. Nasim, The British Journal for the History of Science

"Visual Cultures in Science and Technology is intended to provide a systematic and integrative account of the formation and development of a plurality of visual cultures throughout the history of Western science, technology, and medicine. At the core of its methodology is an exhaustive — and new — comparative approach based on a large number of case studies covering a period that extends from the early modern era to the present day. The selection and range of examples is indeed phenomenal. And so are the visual materials and bibliography that support the argument." — José Ramón Marcaida, ISIS

"This is a rich exploration of the visual cultures of science and technology. Its scope and depth are dazzling, ranging from the development of visual skills to philosophical implications, and from cinematography to Martian canals. Complemented by generous illustrations, this fascinating exploration leads to fruitful insights." — Sean F. Johnston, University of Glasgow

"Visual Cultures in Science and Technology is an ambitious tome offering a comparative history of the role of visualization in science and technology throughout the past five centuries. Drawing upon an impressive array of works from numerous disciplines, including the history of science and technology, philosophy of science, science and technology studies, art history, and cultural studies, this encyclopedic work will become the standard to which all other subsequent works on visual studies will be compared. The meta-narrative of his comparative approach is predicated on numerous detailed microanalyses: there is nothing quite like it in the secondary literature." — Myles Jackson, New York University

From the Publisher