Projecting Knowledge. The Optical Lantern and Science Communication, 1880s-1940s

Dulce Da Rocha Goncalves, Nico de Klerk, Frank Kessler, Jamilla Notebaard (eds). Pages: 284 p. Illustrations:28 b/w, 64 col.Language(s):English. Publication Year:2026. ISBN: 978-2-503-61294-2. Brepols. Hardback - Summary From the 1880s until well into the twentieth century, the optical lantern was an immensely important tool to disseminate knowledge both within and outside academia, particularly in Western Europe and the United States. This volume maps the lantern-illustrated lecture from various perspectives, with contributions on how to research historical audiences, on the spaces where projection was used, on the role of images as evidence, on the shifts in pedagogy that were supported by the projected image, and on the archives and sources that provide access to material that allows an understanding of the multiple ways in which the medium was used. TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction (NdK & FK) 1. Audiences Annelies Andries, “Imag(in)ing Audiences: The First Parisian Hippodrome” Klaas de Zwaan, “From Mass to Micro Medium: Understanding Lantern Lecture Audiences” 2. Pedagogy Bert Theunissen, “From Bildungsbürger to Researchers. The Transformation of Academic Education in the Nineteenth Century” Laurens de Rooy: “The Anatomist’s Toolbox: Teaching Anatomy in Amsterdam 1880-1940” Jamilla Notebaard: “The Visual Strategies of Plant Movement: A Historical Analysis of the Teaching Practices of Professor F.A.F.C. Went (1863-1935)” 3. Images Alison Griffiths, “Defamiliarizing the Lantern Show: Thoughts on Wonder and Decolonial Methodologies” Scott Curtis; “Projected Photographs as Evidence: Testimony and Efficiency” Frank Kessler, “Performing Evidence in Illustrated Lantern Lectures” 4. Spaces Martin Bush, “The Planetarium in Space” Christian H. Stifter, “Vivid and Captivating Knowledge Transmission: The educational use of lantern slides in the early days of the Vienna Urania, 1897-1914” Dulce da Rocha Gonçalves, “Welbehagelijke Zaaltjes and Dorpscafés: Lantern lecture venues in the Netherlands after 1900” 5. Archives and Sources Interview with Trienke van der Spek, “Illustrated Lectures at Teylers Museum, Haarlem” Anke Napp, “Time Capsules: Lantern slides in their media-archaeological environment at the Seminar of Art History at the University of Hamburg” Nico de Klerk, “Imperfect Camouflage: Reviewing Public Illustrated Lectures in Dutch Newspapers, 1890-1940” Afterword, Paul Ziche. …