The cult of amphioxus in German Darwinism; or, our gelatinous ancestors in Naples' blue and balmy bay.

Biologists having rediscovered amphioxus, also known as the lancelet or Branchiostoma, it is time to reassess its place in early Darwinist debates over vertebrate origins. While the advent of the ascidian-amphioxus theory and challenges from various competitors have been, documented, this article offers a richer account of the public appeal of amphioxus as a primitive ancestor. The focus is on how the 'German Darwin' Ernst Haeckel persuaded general magazine and newspaper readers to revere this "flesh of our flesh and blood of our blood", and especially on Das neue Laienbrevier des Haeckelismus (The new lay breviary of Haeckelism) by Moritz Reymond with cartoons by Fritz Steub. From the late 1870s these successful little books of verse introduced the Neapolitan discoveries that made the animal's name and satirized Haeckel's rise as high priest of its cult. One song is reproduced and translated here, with a contemporary "imitation" by the Canadian palaeontologist Edward John Chapman, and extracts from others. Predating the American "It's a long way from amphioxus" by decades, these rhymes dramatize neglected 'species politics' of Darwinism and highlight the roles of humour in negotiating evolution.I thank the Wellcome Trust [088708] for support.This is the final published version. It first appeared at http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs40656-014-0034-x

The tragedy of the emeritus and the fates of anatomical collections: Alfred Benninghoff's memoir of Ferdinand Count Spee.

Retirement can be a significant period in modern academic careers, and emeritus professors have shaped the fates of collections in departments and disciplines. This is evidenced by reconstructing the meanings of Alfred Benninghoff's remarkable memoir of Ferdinand Count Spee, sometime director of the anatomical institute in the University of Kiel. Thematizing the 'tragedy' of the emeritus, Benninghoff's 1944 article recalls his predecessor's possessive interactions with his collections as these approached assorted endings. With nostalgia and humour, it places the old aristocrat physically, intellectually and emotionally in a building that bombing would soon destroy. Benninghoff's Spee retained control over the microscope slides with which he engaged colleagues in conversations about research in embryology and physiological anatomy. He lost authority over the teaching charts and wet preparations, but still said a long farewell to these things; he tried, like a conductor alone after a concert, to recapture an experience he had once shared. The elegy is interpreted as apologetic about anatomy under National Socialism, and as offering a model of collegiality. It illustrates how collections have mediated relations between scientific generations at the end of a career

La importància de l'anàlisi històrica de les imatges de la ciència, amb Nick Hopwood

La Història de la Ciència ha mostrat una tendència tradicional a l'estudi dels textos oblidant-se de les imatges. Però la pràctica científica produeix una àmplia varietat de representacions visuals i el seu estudi ofereix una excel·lent base per comprendre la formació del coneixement científic. Aquest ha estat el tema entorn del qual ha girat la 6a. Escola Europea de Primavera d'Història i Popularització de la Ciència de Maó, organitzada, entre altres entitats, pel Centre d'Història de la Ciència de la UAB (CEHIC). Nick Hopwood, professor titular del Departament d'Història i Filosofia de la Ciència de la Universitat de Cambridge, expert en representacions visuals de la ciència, hi fou convidat, i nosaltres el vam poder entrevistar

A Practical Iterative Framework for Qualitative Data Analysis

The role of iteration in qualitative data analysis, not as a repetitive mechanical task but as a reflexive process, is key to sparking insight and developing meaning. In this paper the authors presents a simple framework for qualitative data analysis comprising three iterative questions. The authors developed it to analyze qualitative data and to engage with the process of continuous meaning-making and progressive focusing inherent to analysis processes. They briefly present the framework and locate it within a more general discussion on analytic reflexivity. They then highlight its usefulness, particularly for newer researchers, by showing practical applications of the framework in two very different studies

Reflection/Commentary on a Past Article: “A Practical Iterative Framework for Qualitative Data Analysis”

This submission is a reflection by Srivastava and Hopwood on their earlier article, A Practical Iterative Framework for Qualitative Data Analysis, originally published in International Journal of Qualitative Methods in 2009, and selected for the journal’s special anniversary issue, “Top 20 in 20.” They discuss how they have applied the framework in their various studies since then, Srivastava, primarily in field-based international research in education and global development, and Hopwood, in education and health. Based on a brief analysis of the paper’s citations, they identify its impact to have been: in a wide variety of fields crossing disciplinary boundaries, studies situated in a range of domestic and international contexts, studies analyzing data from intersectional perspectives and conducted with marginalized participant groups, referred to in methodological textbooks and publications, and used by researchers of all levels of experience, independently or in teams. They end by identifying what they consider to be key emerging topics associated with qualitative data analysis, Hopwood, on nonrepresentational and posthumanist perspectives and the implications of “postcoding,” and Srivastava on considering the agency of less privileged, marginalized, or vulnerable participants in data collection and analysis