Charwat, Elaine Jutta;
(2023)
The nature of replication: re-contextualising 19th- and early 20th-century replicas at the Oxford University Museum of Natural History – an interdisciplinary and comparative approach.
Doctoral thesis (Ph.D), UCL (University College London).
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Abstract
The aim of this project is to demonstrate how material replicas in a natural history context are positioned between authenticity and authority, between nature and culture. What is their role in particular institutional – as part of university collections – and wider historical contexts, and what are the material, scientific and conceptual networks they add to this particular setting? This project recontextualises the role of replicas in the history of science, in particular with regard to the materiality of scientific discourse, the evolution of “objectivity”, as well as in the collecting and research practices of university natural history museums. Linked to this, it presents a new contribution to the knowledge regarding the models and the career of Rudolf Weisker (1845-1887). It looks at networks relating to objects and scientific knowledge, and how wider cultural concepts shape and are shaped by a particular type of object – replicas. In order to analyse contexts, networks and objects, a comparative case study including specific cultural and institutional contexts is conducted and discussed, with a focus on the zoological replica collections of the Oxford University Museum of Natural History (OUMNH). The OUMNH (opened as the Oxford University Museum in 1860) incorporates some of the oldest still extant natural history collections in the world, but the often-conflicted role of the natural sciences and natural sciences collections at Oxford is not only present in the OUMNH’s institutional history, but also in the history of its collections, particularly its replicas. The 19th century saw a proliferation of new scientific ideas and technologies. Natural history replicas, as indeed natural history museums themselves, were both products and enablers of this scientific (r)evolution. Although specific perceptions of authenticity and objectivity may differ, these discussions and associated objects are still relevant today, and this project suggests linking the roles and discourses of natural history replicas to wider discourses around replicas in heritage studies and practice.
| Type: | Thesis (Doctoral) |
|---|---|
| Qualification: | Ph.D |
| Title: | The nature of replication: re-contextualising 19th- and early 20th-century replicas at the Oxford University Museum of Natural History – an interdisciplinary and comparative approach |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | Copyright © The Author 2023. Original content in this thesis is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0) Licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/). Any third-party copyright material present remains the property of its respective owner(s) and is licensed under its existing terms. Access may initially be restricted at the author’s request. |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL SLASH UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL SLASH > Faculty of S&HS UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL SLASH > Faculty of S&HS > Institute of Archaeology |
| URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10174671 |
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