The scientific imagination in South Africa 1700 to the present William Beinart, University of Oxford, Saul Dubow, University of Cambridge

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Beinart, William, author.

Dubow, Saul, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Science--South Africa--History.

Science.

Science and civilization.

South Africa.

Genre:

History

Physical Description:

1 online resource

Place of Publication:

Cambridge, United Kingdom New York, NY Cambridge University Press 2021

Summary:

"South Africa provides a unique vantage point from which to examine the scientific imagination over the last three centuries, when its position on the African continent made it a staging post for Portuguese, Dutch, and British colonialism. In the eighteenth century, South African plants and animals caught the imagination of visiting Europeans. In the nineteenth century, science became central to imperial conquest, devastating wars, agricultural intensification and the exploitation of rich mineral resources. Scientific work both facilitated, and offered alternatives to, the imposition of segregation and apartheid in the twentieth century. William Beinart and Saul Dubow offer an innovative exploration of science and technology in this complex, divided society. Bridging a range of disciplines from astronomy to zoology, they demonstrate how scientific knowledge shaped South Africa's peculiar path to modernity. In so doing, they examine the work of remarkable individual scientists and institutions, as well as the contributions of leading politicians from Jan Smuts to Thabo Mbeki"-- Provided by publisher

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index

Description based on online resource; title from digital title page (viewed on July 21, 2021)

Other Format:

Print version Beinart, William. The scientific imagination in South Africa

ISBN:

9781108938198

1108938191

9781108945578

1108945570

OCLC:

1236897197

Access Restriction:

Restricted for use by site license