A Culture of Curiosity: Science in the Eighteenth-Century Home

Hardback

Main Details

Title A Culture of Curiosity: Science in the Eighteenth-Century Home
Authors and Contributors      By (author) Leonie Hannan
Physical Properties
Format:Hardback
Pages:264
Dimensions(mm): Height 216,Width 138
Category/GenreBritish and Irish History
History of science
ISBN/Barcode 9781526153036
Audience
General
Tertiary Education (US: College)
Professional & Vocational

Publishing Details

Publisher Manchester University Press
Imprint Manchester University Press
NZ Release Date 25 July 2023
Publication Country United Kingdom

Description

This study explores the practice of scientific enquiry as it took place in the eighteenth-century home. While histories of science have identified the genteel household as an important site for scientific experiment, they have tended to do so via biographies of important men of science. Using a wide range of historical source material, from household accounts and inventories to letters and print culture, this book investigates the tools within reach of early modern householders in their search for knowledge. It considers the under-explored question of the home as a site of knowledge production and does so by viewing scientific enquiry as one of many interrelated domestic practices. It shows that knowledge production and consumption were necessary facets of domestic life and that the eighteenth-century home generated practices that were integral to 'Enlightenment' enquiry.

Author Biography

Leonie Hannan is a Senior Lecturer in Eighteenth-Century History at Queen's University, Belfast. -- .