Challenging Tropes

Genius, Heroic Invention, and the Longitude Problem in the Museum

Bibliographic Data

ID3203280
AuthorsRebekah Higgitt (0000-0001-9387-4150, University of Kent, corresponding author)
Year2017
Volume108
Issue2
Pages371-380
Publication date2017-06-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueIsis (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0021-1753 • E-ISSN: 1545-6994
PublisherUniversity of Chicago Press (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1086/692691
OpenAlexW2616981411
LanguageEN
Citations received3
References cited8

This essay explores how concerns relevant to academic historians of science do and do not translate to the museum setting. It takes as a case study a 2014 exhibition on the story of longitude, with which the author was involved. This theme presented opportunities and challenges for sharing nuanced accounts of science, technology, and innovation. Audience expectation, available objects, the requirements of display, and economic constraints were all factors that could impede effective communication of the preferred version of the story, developed in part through an associated research project. Careful choices regarding objects and design, together with the use of theatrical and multimedia spaces and digital displays, helped to shift visitor interest from the well-known version of the story and toward a longer and more peopled account. However, the persistence of heroic and genius narratives meant that this could not always be achieved and that effective engagement must include direct conversation

Aesthetics · Art · Genius · Geodesy · Geography · Latitude · Literature · Longitude · History of Science and Natural History · Museums and Cultural Heritage · Science Education and Perceptions

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