The public image of chemistry / edited by Joachim Schummer, Bernadette Bensaude-Vincent, Brigitte Van Tiggelen.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Schummer, Joachim.

Bensaude-Vincent, Bernadette.

Van Tiggelen, Brigitte, 1962-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Chemistry--Social aspects.

Chemistry.

Chemistry--Public opinion.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (390 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Singapore ; Hackensack, NJ : World Scientific, c2007.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

Popular associations with chemistry range from poisons, hazards, chemical warfare and environmental pollution to alchemical pseudoscience, sorcery and mad scientists, which gravely affect the public image of science in general. While chemists have merely complained about their public image, social and cultural studies of science have largely avoided anything related to chemistry. This book provides, for the first time, an in-depth understanding of the cultural and historical contexts in which the public image of chemistry has emerged. It argues that this image has been shaped through recurri

Contents:

CONTENTS; Introduction Joachim Schummer, Bernadette Bensaude-Vincent & Brigitte Van Tiggelen; Part 1: Popular Images in Fiction and Movies; 1. The Alchemist in Fiction: The Master Narrative Roslynn Haynes; 1. Introduction; 2. The Popular Appeal of Alchemy; 3. The Public Image of Alchemists; 4. Prototypes of the Alchemist in Literature; 4.1 Faust; 4.2 Frankenstein; 5. The Endurance of the Alchemist Stereotype; 6. Terror and Desire; 7. Conclusion; References; 2. Historical Roots of the'Mad Scientist': Chemists in Nineteenth-century Literature Joachim Schummer; 1. Introduction

2. Preliminary Notes about the Medieval Alchemist in the Literature3. Renewing the Discourse about the True Alchemy in Christian Romanticism; 4. Reinventing the Medieval Alchemists in a Discourse about Chemistry; 5. Chemists against God, I: Materialism and Nihilism; 6. Chemists against God, II: Hubris and the 'Mad Scientist'; 7. Conclusion; References; 3. Chemists and their Craft in Fiction Film Peter Weingart; 1. Introduction.; 2. Popular Myths of Scientific Knowledge; 3. Chemists and Chemistry in Fiction Films - Patterns and Stereotypes; 3.1 Note on methodology; 3.2 Popular disciplines

3.3 Settings of research3.4 How knowledge is gained; 3.5 Dangerous discovery/invention; 3.6 Chemistry and ethical values; 3.7 Depictions of scientists' characters; 3.8 Scientific misconduct by discipline; 3.9 Utopias and dystopias of science - objects of fictional science; 3.10 Authenticity; 3.11 Preoccupation with the past - alchemy; 4. Conclusions; References; 4. Chemistry and Power in Recent American Fiction Philip Ball; 1. Introduction; 2. Levi's Legacy; 3. Home Truths about Chemistry; 4. Corporate Gain, Public Loss?; 5. Portentous Polymers; References

Part 2: Self-Images in Chemistry Popularizations5. Popularizing Chemistry: Hands-on and Hands-off David Knight; 1. Introduction*; 2. Who are the Public?; 3. What Used to Happen?; 4. Hands-off to Hands-on?; 5. Publications; 6. Professions, Specialization, and Popularizing; 7. The Unpopularity of Chemistry; 8. Conquering or Worshipping Nature?; References; 6. Liebig or How to Popularize Chemistry Marika Blondel-Mégrelis; 1. Introduction; 2. A Break in Liebig's Trajectory; 3. 1837: The Crucial Year; 4. 1840: The Turning Point; 5. The Instruments of Popularization; 6. Conclusion; References

7. From Chemistry for the People to the Wonders of Technology: The Popularization of Chemistry in the Netherlands during the Nineteenth Century Ernst Homburg1. Introduction1; 2. Wonders of Nature; 3. Science Popularization in the Eighteenth Century; 4. Half a Century Too Late?; 5. Chemistry for Women, Children, and the Common People; 6. Evening Schools and Sunday Schools; 7. Affordable and Illustrated Books for all Classes; 8. 1845-1865: Period of Flowering and Transition; 9. Mulder and Gunning; 10. Wonders of Technology; 11. Conclusion and Outlook; References

8. Abraham Cressy Morrison in the Agora: Bringing Chemistry to the Public Andrew Ede

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9786611928407

9781281928405

1281928402

9789812775856

9812775854

OCLC:

879025676