Connell, Sophia (2025) "A cabinet of many rare secrets": the uses and abuses of Aristotle's Masterpiece. In: Totelin, L. and Perkins, E. (eds.) Tools, Techniques, and Technologies: Essays on Ancient Science and Its Reception in Honour of Liba Taub. Trends in Classics – Pathways of Reception. Berlin, Germany: De Gruyter. ISBN 9783111009940. (In Press)
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Abstract
This paper is inspired by Liba Taub’s work on genres in scientific writing and the use of scientific instruments and objects. It concentrates on Aristotle’s Masterpiece, a work widely distributed in the 17th and 18th centuries which combined ancient learning with contemporary midwifery. Scholarship on Aristotle’s Masterpiece has seldom considered its scientific use and background, concentrating more on its social and literary influences. This paper considers the work as part of material culture which contributed to the practice and dissemination of scientific ideas. I will argue my case with an eye on the use of this little book by the actual people who read it, and how this use interacted with the broader scientific background, including the illustrations and the instruments employed in the context of reproduction and midwifery.
Metadata
| Item Type: | Book Section |
|---|---|
| School: | Birkbeck Faculties and Schools > Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences > School of Historical Studies |
| Depositing User: | Sophia Connell |
| Date Deposited: | 09 Oct 2024 10:46 |
| Last Modified: | 09 Oct 2024 15:44 |
| URI: | https://eprints.bbk.ac.uk/id/eprint/54112 |
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