Jaargang / Année 3, 1997, nr. 1 - Gewina

52 Lezingen en congressen I Conferences et congres
In the first, the 'Humboldt phenomenon' - his extraordinary international
renown - will be considered by looking at the historical geography of his
reputation, addressing the question: 'Why did Humboldt become famous to the
extent he did at particular periods and in particular countries, and what
purposes did venerating him serve?' In the second session, the novel interest in
non-verbal representation in the sciences will be brought to bear on Humboldt
by discussing his relevance to nineteenth-century scientific visualization. In the
third session, another recent theme of the historiography of science will be
connected with Humboldt by venturing into the hitherto largely taboo domain
of Humboldt's sexual proclivities, additionally exploring such issues as selfexperimentation,
and asking the question: 'To what extent do body and gender
matter?'
Thursday, 29 May
Nicolaas Rupke (Gottingen), The many Humboldts of the biographical literature
Opening of the Conference Exhibition
Friday, 30 May
Towards a Geography of Humboldt's Fame
Chair: Anthony Pagden (Cambridge I Johns Hopkins)
Michael Dettelbach (Smith College I MPI fur Wissenschaftsgeschichte, Berlin),
Surveying the landscape: Alexander von Humboldt as critic of the sciences
Andreas Daum (German Historical Institute, Washington, DC), A hero
invented: Alexander von Humboldt in the 19th-century American public sphere
Roderick Home (Melbourne), Humboldtian imagery and 'the Humboldt of
Australia'
Wolfgang Boeker and Rainer Broemer (Gottingen), The German biographical
construction of Alexander von Humboldt, between the Revolution of 1848 and
the Franco-Prussian War
Ingo Schwarz (Alexander-von-Humboldt-Forschungsstelle, Berlin), Alexander
von Humboldt: socio-political views of the Americas
Commentary by Charles Withers (Edinburgh) and general discussion
Humboldtian Visualizations
Chair: Martin Kemp (Oxford)
Renate Loeschner (Ibero-American Institute, Berlin), Paintings of South
American scenes by Humboldtian artists
Reimer Eck (Gottingen), Images of North American natives in European travel
reports of the 18th and early-19th centuries