Communities of Science in Nineteenth-Century Ireland
Juliana Adelman
Science and Culture in the Nineteenth Century
978 1 85196 653 0: 234x156mm: £60.00/$99.00
978 1 85196 654 7
The nineteenth century was an important period for both the proliferation of ‘popular’ science and for the demarcation of a group of professionals that we now term scientists. Of course for Ireland, largely in contrast to the rest of Britain, the prominence of Catholicism posed various philosophical questions regarding research.
Adelman’s study examines the practical educational impact of the growth of science in these communities, and the impact of this on the country’s economy; the role of museums and exhibitions in spreading scientific knowledge; and the role that science had to play in Ireland’s turbulent political context.
Adelman challenges historians to reassess the relationship between science and society, showing that the unique situation in Victorian Ireland can nonetheless have important implications for wider European interpretations of the development of this relationship during a period of significant change.
Sample pages
Readership
History of Science, Irish History, Nineteenth-Century Studies
Contents
Introduction
1 Voluntary Societies
2 University Education
3 Agricultural Improvement
4 Museums and Exhibitions
5 Periodicals
Conclusion
Reviews
'Juliana Adelman’s Communities of Science in Nineteenth-Century Ireland is a welcome and groundbreaking contribution to the history of Irish science ... [it] is an exceptionally wide-ranging and accessible study whose value lies not only in its content but also in the many new research questions it raises. Historians of Irish history, as well as historians of science in Ireland, will find much enlightenment here.'
– Clara Cullen, British Journal for the History of Science
'Dr Adelman has put all students of nineteenth-century Irish history in her debt by producing such a well-researched, well-presented and stimulating study.'
– Andrew R Holmes, Irish Historical Studies
'...it is a pleasure to have an important contribution like this ... Irish historians tend to ignore science and technology, but this is a volume they all should read.'
– Richard A Jarrell, ISIS
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