Science in modernist poetry

Our next work-in-progress meeting will be on science in modernist poetry. The IRHS was invited to submit a panel to the conference of the British Association of Modernist Studies, so Stephen Thomson and John Holmes will be sharing their work in progress towards this panel on Wednesday 4th June at 1 p.m. in URS 2n10. Stephen will be talking about the place of Descartes within the thought and poetics of the French poet Paul Valéry, and John will be looking at the significance of evolutionary ideas within modernist epic poems by Ezra Pound, David Jones and Ronald Duncan. Members of the IRHS and non-members are both welcome.

 

Two upcoming talks

Here are the details of two upcoming talks by members of the IRHS on aspects of their interdisciplinary work:

  • John Holmes will be speaking on ‘“A Just Debt of Gratitude”: John Ruskin, the Pre-Raphaelites and the Oxford Museum’ on Thursday 22nd May at 4 p.m. at the Ruskin Research Seminar at the Ruskin Library and Research Centre, Lancaster University
  • Alison Martin will be speaking on ‘Creative Forces in Nature: British Women and the Internationalisation of Romantic Science’ on Friday 23rd May at 3.45 p.m. at a conference on Revealing Lives: Women in Science 1830-2000 at the Royal Society in London

IRHS interdisciplinary teaching on Humboldt

Alison Martin (German) writes:

At the start of the year, I met up with Hilary Geoghegan from Geography who told me she was running a session on earth-writing for her 1st year geographers as part of her
GV1HUM Human Geography: Practice and Principles seminar. I’ve just spent the past six years researching style in the English translations of works by the great Prussian scientist and explorer Alexander von Humboldt (1769-1859), who was obsessed with writing in an engaging way to make his works readable, enjoyable and (rather importantly) profitable. In this seminar we looked at reflections by Humboldt and his English contemporaries Michael Faraday and Charles Darwin on the difficulties of producing clear and vibrant prose – something we all grapple with as we write our essays, articles and books.