Natural Things in Early Modern Worlds

Natural Things in Early Modern Worlds
Author: Mackenzie Cooley
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
Total Pages: 557
Release: 2023-05-09
Genre: History
ISBN: 1000873021

The essays and original visualizations collected in Natural Things in Early Modern Worlds explore the relationships among natural things - ranging from pollen in a gust of wind to a carnivorous pitcher plant to a shell-like skinned armadillo - and the humans enthralled with them. Episodes from 1500 to the early 1900s reveal connected histories across early modern worlds as natural things traveled across the Indian Ocean, the Ottoman Empire, Pacific islands, Southeast Asia, the Spanish Empire, and Western Europe. In distant worlds that were constantly changing with expanding networks of trade, colonial aspirations, and the rise of empiricism, natural things obtained new meanings and became alienated from their origins. Tracing the processes of their displacement, each chapter starts with a piece of original artwork that relies on digital collage to pull image sources out of place and to represent meanings that natural things lost and remade. Accessible and elegant, Natural Things is the first study of its kind to combine original visualizations with the history of science. Museum-goers, scholars, scientists, and students will find new histories of nature and collecting within. Its playful visuality will capture the imagination of non-academic and academic readers alike while reminding us of the alienating capacity of the modern life sciences.

Sir Stamford Raffles And Some Of His Friends And Contemporaries: A Memoir Of The Founder Of Singapore

Sir Stamford Raffles And Some Of His Friends And Contemporaries: A Memoir Of The Founder Of Singapore
Author: John Bastin
Publisher: World Scientific
Total Pages: 488
Release: 2019-03-29
Genre: History
ISBN: 9813277688

This book — written by Dr John Bastin, a leading authority on the study of Sir Stamford Raffles — offers an alternative biographical account of Raffles, as seen through his relationship with some of his closest friends and contemporaries.The people featured include the naturalists Joseph Arnold, Thomas Horsfield and Nathaniel Wallich, who received support from Raffles in carrying on their scientific research, and the orientalist John Leyden, who influenced Raffles's study of Malay and Malay customs.Examining Raffles and his social circle presents an original perspective of the man and of the colonial world in which he lived, and his correspondence with his friends and scientific colleagues reflects his attitude and opinions on a range of issues, including his desire to extend the benefits of education. The book is a highly original contribution to the study of Raffles in the bicentenary year of his founding of Singapore.