‘Ancient lore with modern appliances’: networks, expertise, and the making of the Open Polar Sea, 1851–1853
Abstract This article provides a transnational analysis of the campaigns for the organization of expeditions to the central Arctic region by the American explorer Elisha Kent Kane and the Prussian cartographer August Petermann between 1851 and 1853. By adopting a comparative approach, this study foc...
Published in: | The British Journal for the History of Science |
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Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0007087421000522 https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0007087421000522 |
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crcambridgeupr:10.1017/s0007087421000522 2024-03-03T08:40:56+00:00 ‘Ancient lore with modern appliances’: networks, expertise, and the making of the Open Polar Sea, 1851–1853 Kaalund, Nanna Katrine Lüders Woitkowitz, John 2021 http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0007087421000522 https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0007087421000522 en eng Cambridge University Press (CUP) http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ The British Journal for the History of Science volume 54, issue 3, page 277-299 ISSN 0007-0874 1474-001X History and Philosophy of Science History journal-article 2021 crcambridgeupr https://doi.org/10.1017/s0007087421000522 2024-02-08T08:38:18Z Abstract This article provides a transnational analysis of the campaigns for the organization of expeditions to the central Arctic region by the American explorer Elisha Kent Kane and the Prussian cartographer August Petermann between 1851 and 1853. By adopting a comparative approach, this study focuses on three interventions in the history of Arctic science and exploration: the construction of scientific expertise surrounding the relationship between the ‘armchair’ and the field, the role of transnational networks, and the significance of maps as travelling epistemic objects in the production of knowledge about the Arctic regions. In bringing both campaigns in conversation with each other, this article demonstrates that the histories of Kane's and Petermann's campaigns did not constitute isolated episodes but form part of a transnational nexus of imperial science and Arctic exploration in the nineteenth century. Moreover, based on research in libraries and archives in the United States, Germany and England, this study reconnects otherwise siloed collections and contributes new findings on the interpersonal networks of science and exploration. Finally, this article illustrates the importance of adopting comparative transnational approaches for understanding the fluid and reciprocal nature of Arctic science throughout the transatlantic world. Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic Open Polar Sea Cambridge University Press Arctic Kane ENVELOPE(-63.038,-63.038,-73.952,-73.952) The British Journal for the History of Science 1 23 |
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Open Polar |
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Cambridge University Press |
op_collection_id |
crcambridgeupr |
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English |
topic |
History and Philosophy of Science History |
spellingShingle |
History and Philosophy of Science History Kaalund, Nanna Katrine Lüders Woitkowitz, John ‘Ancient lore with modern appliances’: networks, expertise, and the making of the Open Polar Sea, 1851–1853 |
topic_facet |
History and Philosophy of Science History |
description |
Abstract This article provides a transnational analysis of the campaigns for the organization of expeditions to the central Arctic region by the American explorer Elisha Kent Kane and the Prussian cartographer August Petermann between 1851 and 1853. By adopting a comparative approach, this study focuses on three interventions in the history of Arctic science and exploration: the construction of scientific expertise surrounding the relationship between the ‘armchair’ and the field, the role of transnational networks, and the significance of maps as travelling epistemic objects in the production of knowledge about the Arctic regions. In bringing both campaigns in conversation with each other, this article demonstrates that the histories of Kane's and Petermann's campaigns did not constitute isolated episodes but form part of a transnational nexus of imperial science and Arctic exploration in the nineteenth century. Moreover, based on research in libraries and archives in the United States, Germany and England, this study reconnects otherwise siloed collections and contributes new findings on the interpersonal networks of science and exploration. Finally, this article illustrates the importance of adopting comparative transnational approaches for understanding the fluid and reciprocal nature of Arctic science throughout the transatlantic world. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Kaalund, Nanna Katrine Lüders Woitkowitz, John |
author_facet |
Kaalund, Nanna Katrine Lüders Woitkowitz, John |
author_sort |
Kaalund, Nanna Katrine Lüders |
title |
‘Ancient lore with modern appliances’: networks, expertise, and the making of the Open Polar Sea, 1851–1853 |
title_short |
‘Ancient lore with modern appliances’: networks, expertise, and the making of the Open Polar Sea, 1851–1853 |
title_full |
‘Ancient lore with modern appliances’: networks, expertise, and the making of the Open Polar Sea, 1851–1853 |
title_fullStr |
‘Ancient lore with modern appliances’: networks, expertise, and the making of the Open Polar Sea, 1851–1853 |
title_full_unstemmed |
‘Ancient lore with modern appliances’: networks, expertise, and the making of the Open Polar Sea, 1851–1853 |
title_sort |
‘ancient lore with modern appliances’: networks, expertise, and the making of the open polar sea, 1851–1853 |
publisher |
Cambridge University Press (CUP) |
publishDate |
2021 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0007087421000522 https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0007087421000522 |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(-63.038,-63.038,-73.952,-73.952) |
geographic |
Arctic Kane |
geographic_facet |
Arctic Kane |
genre |
Arctic Open Polar Sea |
genre_facet |
Arctic Open Polar Sea |
op_source |
The British Journal for the History of Science volume 54, issue 3, page 277-299 ISSN 0007-0874 1474-001X |
op_rights |
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1017/s0007087421000522 |
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The British Journal for the History of Science |
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1 |
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23 |
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