Edward Forbes (1815-1854) and the exhibition of natural order in Edinburgh

The roles, affordances and social agency of natural history museums are discussed in relation to the writings of Edward Forbes. These signal a motivation, in the mid-nineteenth-century, to naturalize the established social order through the systematic arrangement and display of natural history speci...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inArchives of natural history Vol. 37; no. 2; pp. 309 - 317
Main Author Swinney, Geoffrey N
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published UK Edinburgh University Press 01.10.2010
Subjects
Classification
Exhibits as Topic
Historical Studies
History of medicine
History, 19th Century
Museums - history
Scotland - ethnology
Social Change - history
Social Control, Informal - history
Social Environment
Temperance - economics
Temperance - history
Temperance - legislation & jurisprudence
Temperance - psychology
Urbanization - history
Urbanization - legislation & jurisprudence
Scotland
museum studies
Scotland
social order
urbanization
Edinburgh Museum of Science and Art
temperance
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Summary:The roles, affordances and social agency of natural history museums are discussed in relation to the writings of Edward Forbes. These signal a motivation, in the mid-nineteenth-century, to naturalize the established social order through the systematic arrangement and display of natural history specimens. The perceived importance of the embodied messages of social order, as an antidote to radicalism and revolution, overrode concerns about temperance and abstinence and immediate fears for the physical safety of collections. The tensions between temperance, and the broader concerns about social order, were played out over the matter of the museums themselves being licensed premises.
Bibliography:ObjectType-Article-1
SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1
ObjectType-Feature-2
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ISSN:0260-9541
1755-6260
DOI:10.3366/anh.2010.0011