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PHRENOLOGY, CORRESPONDENCE, AND THE GLOBAL POLITICS OF REFORM, 1815–1848

Accepted version
Peer-reviewed

Repository DOI


Type

Article

Change log

Authors

POSKETT, JAMES 

Abstract

jats:titleABSTRACT</jats:title>jats:pLike many nineteenth-century sciences, phrenology had global aspirations. Skulls were collected in Egypt and Ceylon, societies exchanged journals between India and the United States, and phrenological bestsellers were sold in Shanghai and Tokyo. Despite this wealth of interaction, existing accounts treat phrenology within neat national and urban settings. In contrast, this article examines phrenology as a global political project. During an age in which character dominated public discourse, phrenology emerged as a powerful political language. In this article, I examine the role that correspondence played in establishing material connections between phrenologists and their political concerns, ranging from the abolition of slavery to the reform of prison discipline. Two overarching arguments run throughout my case-studies. First, phrenologists used correspondence to establish reform as a global project. Second, phrenology allowed reformers to present their arguments in terms of a new understanding of human character. More broadly, this article connects political thought with the global history of science.</jats:p>

Description

This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from Cambridge University Press via https://doi.org/10.1017/S0018246X16000236

Keywords

4303 Historical Studies, 43 History, Heritage and Archaeology

Journal Title

The Historical Journal

Conference Name

Journal ISSN

0018-246X
1469-5103

Volume Title

60

Publisher

Cambridge University Press (CUP)