Radical artisans, divine design, and evolution in Britain, 1819-36
Adrian Desmond’s studies of the British debates on transmutation in the 1820s and 1830s, and in particular of the role in those debates of radical artisans, permanently altered scholarly understanding of “the politics of evolution”. However, a closer look at radical publications from that period suggest that Desmond’s dichotomous picture, of radical artisanal supporters of transmutation pitted against conservative gentlemanly supporters of design theology, needs heavy qualification. This paper explores the topic afresh, drawing on evidence from the popular press of the era, and especially the Poor Man’s Guardian (1831‒35), which regularly carried editorials, verses and other writings that blended reformist politics with design theology. Recovery of this tradition of radical design theology can help us better understand both the religious condition of the British working class of the 1830s and the complex nature of religious alignments in the emerging debates over species.
Date: 14 January 2019, 16:00
Venue: History Faculty, George Street OX1 2RL
Venue Details: Lecture Theatre
Speaker: Dr Jonathan Topham (University of Leeds)
Organising department: Oxford Centre for the History of Science, Medicine and Technology
Organisers: Professor Rob Iliffe (University of Oxford), Dr Sloan Mahone (University of Oxford)
Organiser contact email address: hsmt@history.ox.ac.uk
Part of: Oxford Centre for the History of Science Medicine & Technology (OCHSMT) Seminars and Events
Topics:
Booking required?: Not required
Audience: Public
Editor: Belinda Clark