Space and the 'march of mind' : literature and the physical sciences in Britain, 1815-1850

This book is about the idea of space in the first half of the nineteenth century. It uses contemporary poetry, essays, and fiction as well as scientific papers, textbooks, and journalism to give a new account of nineteenth-century literature's relationship with science. In particular it brings the physical sciences--physics and chemistry--more accessibly and fully into the arena of literary criticism than has been the case until now. Writers whose work is discussed in this book include many who will be familiar to a literary audience (including Wordsworth, Coleridge, and Hazlitt), some well-known in the history of science (including Faraday, Herschel, and Whewell), and a raft of lesser-known figures. Alice Jenkins draws a new map of the interactions between literature and science in the first half of the nineteenth century, showing how both disciplines were wrestling with the same central political and intellectual concerns--regulating access to knowledge, organizing knowledge in productive ways, and formulating the relationships of old and new knowledges. Space has become a subject of enormous critical interest in literary and cultural studies. Space and the 'March of Mind' gives a wide-ranging account of how early nineteenth-century writers thought about--and thought with --space. Burgeoning mass access to print culture combined with rapid scientific development to create a crisis in managing knowledge. Contemporary writers tried to solve this crisis by rethinking the nature of space. Writers in all genres and disciplines, from all points on the political spectrum, returned again and again to ideas and images of space when they needed to set up or dismantle boundaries in the intellectual realm, and when they wanted to talk about what kinds of knowledge certain groups of readers wanted, needed, or deserved. This book provides a rich new picture of the early nineteenth century's understanding of its own culture. This book is about the idea of space in the first half of the nineteenth century. It uses contemporary poetry, essays, and fiction as well as scientific papers, textbooks, and journalism to give a new account of nineteenth-century literature's relationship with science. In particular it brings the physical sciences - physics and chemistry - more accessibly and fully into the arena of literary criticism than has been the case until now. Writers whose work is discussed in this book include many who will be familiar to a literary audience (including Wordsworth, Coleridge, and Hazlitt), some well-known in the history of science (including Faraday, Herschel, and Whewell), and a raft of lesser-known figures. Alice Jenkins draws a new map of the interactions between literature and science in the first half of the nineteenth century, showing how both disciplines were wrestling with the same central political and intellectual concerns - regulating access to knowledge, organising knowledge in productive ways, and formulating the relationships of old and new knowledges. Space has become a subject of enormous critical interest in literary and cultural studies. Space and the 'March of Mind' gives a wide-ranging account of how early nineteenth-century writers thought about - and thought with - space. Burgeoning mass access to print culture combined with rapid scientific development to create a crisis in managing knowledge. Contemporary writers tried to solve this crisis by rethinking the nature of space. Writers in all genres and disciplines, from all points on the political spectrum, returned again and again to ideas and images of space when they needed to set up or dismantle boundaries in the intellectual realm, and when they wanted to talk about what kinds of knowledge certain groups of readers wanted, needed, or deserved. This book provides a rich new picture of the early nineteenth century's understanding of its own culture. ## Abstract This book is about the idea of space in the first half of the 19th century. It uses contemporary poetry, essays, and fiction as well as scientific papers, textbooks, and journalism to give a new account of 19th-century literature's relationship with science. In particular, it brings the physical sciences more accessibly and fully into the arena of literary criticism than has previously been the case. Writers discussed in this book include many who will be familiar to a literary audience (including Wordsworth, Coleridge, and Hazlitt), some well-known in the history of science (including Faraday, Herschel, and Whewell), and a raft of lesser-known figures. Alice Jenkins draws a new map of the interactions between literature and science in the first half of the 19th century, showing how both disciplines were wrestling with the same central political and intellectual concerns — regulating access to knowledge, organising knowledge productively, and formulating the relationships of old and new knowledge. Space has become a subject of enormous critical interest in literary and cultural studies. This book gives a wide-ranging account of how early nineteenth-century writers thought about — and thought with — space. Burgeoning mass access to print culture combined with rapid scientific development to create a crisis in managing knowledge. Contemporary writers tried to solve this crisis by rethinking the nature of space. Writers in all genres and disciplines, from across the political spectrum, returned repeatedly to ideas and images of space when they needed to set up or dismantle boundaries in the intellectual realm, and when they wanted to talk about what kinds of knowledge certain groups of readers wanted, needed, or deserved. Space And The 'march Of Mind' Reads Poetry, Essays, And Fiction As Well As Scientific Papers, Textbooks, And Journalism To Give A New Account Of Early Nineteenth-century Literature's Relationship With The Physical Sciences.--jacket. Introduction; I. Thinking With Spaces; 1. Culture As Nature: Landscape Metaphors And Access To The World Of Learning; 2. Organizing The Space Of Knowledge; 3. Disciplinary Boundaries And Border Disputes; 4. Space And The Languages Of Science; Ii. Thinking About Space; 5. Aspiring To The Abstract: Pure Space And Geometry; 6. Bodies In Space: Ether, Light, And The Beginnings Of The Field; 7. Chaos, The Void, And Poetry. Alice Jenkins. Includes Bibliographical References (p. [235]-250) And Index. Contents......Page 10 Introduction......Page 12 I. THINKING WITH SPACES......Page 38 1. Culture as Nature: Landscape Metaphors and Access to the World of Learning......Page 40 2. Organizing the Space of Knowledge......Page 66 3. Disciplinary Boundaries and Border Disputes......Page 91 4. Space and the Languages of Science......Page 124 II. THINKING ABOUT SPACE......Page 150 5. Aspiring to the Abstract: Pure Space and Geometry......Page 152 6. Bodies in Space: Ether, Light, and the Beginnings of the Field......Page 187 7. Chaos, the Void, and Poetry......Page 219 Afterword......Page 244 Bibliography......Page 246 C......Page 262 E......Page 263 K......Page 264 M......Page 265 S......Page 266 W......Page 267 Z......Page 268 This book is about the idea of space in the nineteenth century. It uses contemporary poetry, essays, and fiction as well as scientific papers, textbooks, and journalism to examine literature's relationship with science. In particular it brings the physical sciences more accessibly and fully into the arena of literary criticism than ever before. - ;This book is about the idea of space in the first half of the nineteenth century. It uses contemporary poetry, essays, and fiction as well as scientific papers, textbooks, and journalism to give a new account of nineteenth-century literature's relati Discussing the idea of space in the first half of the 19th century, this book uses contemporary poetry, essays, and fiction as well as scientific papers, textbooks, and journalism to give an account of 19th-century literature's relationship with science This book is an interdisciplinary study of British literary and scientific culture in the first half of the nineteenth century, focusing on the development in those decades of a new spatial imagination.