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"The Swedish scientist Carl Linnaeus (1707-1778) is the known as the father of modern biological taxonomy. One of the greatest scientists in history, he formalized and popularized the system of binomial nomenclature and classified thousands of species of plants and animals. In his field, he is so well known that he is often referred to simply as "L." In this comprehensive biography, Linnaeus scholar Gunnar Broberg, draws on a wide range of new research to paint a vivid and intimate portrait of the man. Delving deep into Linnaeus's correspondence and other contemporary sources, Broberg introduces reader's to Linnaeus's family and takes them along on his famous expedition to Lapland. He also investigates the scientist's private thoughts on subjects such as evolution and religion, which often yielded eccentric results. Despite, or perhaps because, of his great achievement, Linnaeus could be moody and egotistical, and this nuanced biography does not shy away from presenting both his scientific achievements and human failings"--
The authors present a number of case studies, from the Middle Age to present time, about how the past has been made meaningful and relevant to people living in later periods. It is the process of selecting, interpreting and passing on meaning that we call negotiating the past. This process is loaded with tension in part stemming from the past itself, but which is often due to the various agents involved in the process as they represent different interests, understandings and points of view. At the same time, the process is marked by a wish to come to terms with unknown conditions, to develop some consensus, again not only with the past, but also with one's contemporaries. These dynamic and d...
This book challenges earlier understandings of early modern dissertations as unimaginative academic exercises. It argues for their continuous importance in scholarly and scientific discourse, and describes the richness and diversity of their subjects and themes. The book contains a complete catalogue of the almost 20,000 Swedish dissertations defended in Uppsala, Lund and Åbo, 1600 to 1820. The catalogue includes longer comments and descriptions of a few thousand of these dissertations, and also gives an analysis of how different subjects have evolved over time.
Following the format of Fitzroy Dearborn's highly successful International Dictionary of Historic Places and International Dictionary of University Histories, the International Dictionary of Library Histories provides basic information for each institution - location and holdings - followed by an extensive (1,000-5,000 word) essay on its history as well as a Further Reading list. In addition, the dictionary includes introductory articles on the history of various types of libraries and a library history in various regions of the world. The dictionary profiles more than 200 institutions from around the world, including the world's most important research libraries and other libraries with glo...
When dusting out corners, we often find things once thought useful, but perhaps not useful enough to keep on display or ready to hand. If we dust in a time and place distant from that in which they were once used, we may be surprised by their vitality, which may also lead us to ask why we swept them into that corner in the first place. The articles in this book look at old letters, a popular song, a hit comedy, an overlooked opera, three Swedish composers of the period, and illustrations in a popular book. They are intended to surprise us with the residual vitality of what one can find in those dusty corners. The choice of one place and time to sweep within this book is purely practical and not exclusive; there remain many other dusty corners to be swept.
Once considered the largest and most extensive source of biographies in the English language, The Universal Dictionary of Biography and Mythology contains information on nearly every historical figure, notable name, and important subject of mythology from throughout the world prior to the 20th century. Spanning all fields of human effort-from literature and the arts to philosophy and science-and touching on topics from multiple areas of mythological study, including Norse, Greek, and Roman, this extraordinary reference guide continues to be one of the most thorough and accurate collections of biographical data ever created. Combining mythological and biographical entries into a single, compr...
"This book investigates how different social groups used history as a political instrument in Sweden during the second half of the eighteenth century (1740-1792). More specifically, it analyzes how representations of the past were used to influence behavior, advance and legitimize claims to power, mould opinion and forge collective identities. In addition to analyzing how historians conceived of the relationship between history writing and society, the study considers how three social groups or actors - commoners, nobles and King Gustavus III - used history during a time of intense social conflict. These questions are pursued within the context of competing efforts to describe society and th...
A unified account of the essential history of the book and related book arts from antiquity to our own times.