Field, lab and museum : the practice and place of life science in Yorkshire, 1870-1904
Later Victorian Yorkshire was home to a vigorous community of life science practitioners. In studying them, I reassess three dichotomies familiar to the contextualist historian of Victorian science: field and laboratory, science and society, and amateur and professional. I outline the refashioning of amateur and professional roles in life science, and I provide a revised historiography for the relationship between amateurs and professionals in this area and era. While exploring these issues, I examine the complex net of cultural and educational institutions where the sites for the practice of life science emerged and existed. Natural history practices shaded imperceptibly into other facets of civic culture. I present natural history as a leisure activity and as a resource utilised by the maturing provincial middle classes, one of a range of cultural activities within a network of voluntary associations. This thesis is arranged by institution: philosophical society, museum, civic college and field club. Each of these corresponds, loosely, to a site for science: respectively, lecture hall, museum, laboratory and field. The traditional 'field versus lab' historiography ignores the many and varied sites for life
Alberti, Samuel John Matthew Mayer
Amateurs; Natural history
Field, lab and museum : the practice and place of life science in Yorkshire, 1870-1904. Later Victorian Yorkshire was home to a vigorous community of life science practitioners. In studying them, I reassess three dichotomies familiar to the contextualist historian of Victorian science: field and laboratory, science and society, and amateur and professional. I outline the refashioning of amateur and professional roles in life science, and I provide a revised historiography for the relationship between amateurs and professionals in this area and era. While exploring these issues, I examine the complex net of cultural and educational institutions where the sites for the practice of life science emerged and existed. Natural history practices shaded imperceptibly into other facets of civic culture. I present natural history as a leisure activity and as a resource utilised by the maturing provincial middle classes, one of a range of cultural activities within a network of voluntary associations. This thesis is arranged by institution: philosophical society, museum, civic college and field club. Each of these corresponds, loosely, to a site for science: respectively, lecture hall, museum, laboratory and field. The traditional 'field versus lab' historiography ignores the many and varied sites for life
field lab museum practice place life science yorkshire later victorian yorkshire home vigorous community life science practitioner study reassess dichotomy familiar contextualist historian victorian science field laboratory science society amateur professional outline amateur professional role life science provide revise historiography relationship amateurs professional area era explore issue examine complex net cultural educational_institution sit practice life science emerge exist natural_history practice shade facet civic culture present natural_history leisure_activity resource utilise mature provincial middle_class range cultural activity within network voluntary association arrange institution philosophical society museum civic college field club corresponds loosely site science respectively lecture hall museum laboratory field traditional field versus lab historiography ignores many vary site life