This dissertation explores the popularisation of Charles Darwin’s evolutionary theory in Romania from 1859 to 1918. Placing Darwinism in the Romanian context is important in several ways, as not only gives a picture of the interconnectedness between the political and the scientific construction of knowledge, but also reveals how cultural hegemony was formed in the European periphery. The research traces the multidirectionality of scientific ideas, highlighting its top-down and bottom up character. It focuses on the social staging of Darwinism, materially and culturally (in printed texts and institutions), politically (in ideological contests and outcomes), and scientifically (in epistemological negotiations). Finally, it explores the relationship between these historical agents. Special attention is given to science popularisation journals, pamphlets, manuals of natural history and museum artefacts in Romania, which addressed the evolutionary theory and its role for the adoption of the biological perspective in studies of ecology. To this end, the dissertation provides a detailed analysis of the social context in which scientific institutions and associations operated, exploring how Romanian naturalists acquired scientific authority, while deciding which scientific theories circulated in the public sphere. At the same time, the dissertation highlights how Darwinism was intertwined with ideas of racial, social and gender inequalities. Drawing on relevant comparisons with other countries, it reveals the development of a scientific public in Romania at the end of the nineteenth century, and the role played by popular knowledge and counterpublics in scientific debates.
Permanent link to this resource: https://doi.org/10.24384/fzh8-5v49
Koszor-Codrea, Cosmin
Supervisors: Turda, Marius; Crook, Tom
Department of History, Philosophy and CultureFaculty of Humanities and Social Sciences
Year: 2021
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