Article ID: CBB329973980

Challenging Tropes: Genius, Heroic Invention, and the Longitude Problem in the Museum (2017)

unapi

Higgitt, Rebekah (Author)


Isis: International Review Devoted to the History of Science and Its Cultural Influences
Volume: 108
Issue: 2
Pages: 371-380


Publication Date: 2017
Edition Details: This article is part of the Focus Section: "Why Science Museums Matter: History of Science in Museums in the Twenty-First Century"
Language: English

This essay explores how concerns relevant to academic historians of science do and do not translate to the museum setting. It takes as a case study a 2014 exhibition on the story of longitude, with which the author was involved. This theme presented opportunities and challenges for sharing nuanced accounts of science, technology, and innovation. Audience expectation, available objects, the requirements of display, and economic constraints were all factors that could impede effective communication of the preferred version of the story, developed in part through an associated research project. Careful choices regarding objects and design, together with the use of theatrical and multimedia spaces and digital displays, helped to shift visitor interest from the well-known version of the story and toward a longer and more peopled account. However, the persistence of heroic and genius narratives meant that this could not always be achieved and that effective engagement must include direct conversation.

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Article Ad Maas (2017) Introduction: History of Science Museums between Academics and Audiences. Isis: International Review Devoted to the History of Science and Its Cultural Influences (pp. 360-365). unapi

Citation URI
https://data.isiscb.org/isis/citation/CBB329973980/

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Authors & Contributors
Lourenço, Marta C.
Schwarz, Claudia G.
Rachel Hill
Helena Gonçalves
Mikihito Tanaka
Simão Mateus
Concepts
Public understanding of science
Museums
Science education and teaching
Public understanding of technology
Communication of scientific ideas
Material culture
Time Periods
21st century
Modern
20th century, late
20th century
19th century
Early modern
Places
United States
Catalonia (Spain)
Boston (Massachusetts, U.S.)
Portugal
Japan
Austria
Institutions
Universidade do Porto
Westinghouse Electric Corporation
University of South Carolina
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