6 research outputs found
James Huttonâs geological tours of Scotland : romanticism, literary strategies, and the scientific quest
This article explores a somewhat neglected part of the story of the emergence of geology as a science and discourse in the late eighteenth century â James Huttonâs posthumously published accounts of the geological tours of Scotland that he undertook in the years 1785 to 1788 in search of empirical evidence in support of his theory of the Earth and that he intended to include in the projected third volume of his Theory of the Earth of 1795. The article brings some of the assumptions and techniques of literary criticism to bear on Huttonâs scientific travel writing in order to open up new connections between geology, Romantic aesthetics and eighteenth-century travel writing about Scotland. Close analysis of Huttonâs accounts of his field trips to Glen Tilt, Galloway and Arran, supplemented by later accounts of the discoveries at Jedburgh and Siccar Point, reveals the interplay between desire, travel and the scientific quest and foregrounds the textual strategies that Hutton uses to persuade his readers that they share in the experience of geological discovery and interpretation as âvirtual witnessesâ. As well as allowing us to revisit the interrelation between scientific theory and discovery, this article concludes that Hutton was a much better writer than he has been given credit for and suggests that if these geological tours had been published in 1795 they would have made it impossible for critics to dismiss him as an armchair geologist
Sublime encounters: Commodifying the experience of the geos
This paper discusses the rise in volcano tourism in the last few decades, focusing on its impact in recent eruptive crises in Iceland. The paper uses evidence from ethnographic research and surveys to argue that two divergent economic narratives come into conflict around volcanoes: the problematisation of the earth as potentially risky, and the elevation of those risky behaviours as something worth commodifying. Icelandic civil protection (Almannavarnir) have increasingly become concern ed about the behaviour of tourists around active volcanoes, particularly during eruptions. However, this is also a considerable opportunity for tour groups. During the 2014â2015 eruptions at Holuhraun, there was concern about high levels of gas that were being emitted, and so tourists were banned from the site. This led to clandestine efforts to get in by helicopter after dark. The felt need for these experiences can be traced back at least to the Enlightenment period, and denotes an example of affective commodification, as the sublime encounter between humans and raw energy of the earth is rendered valuable in monetary terms â and yet transcends commodification in a simple sense.his work was funded by a Leverhulme/Newton Trust Early Career Fellowship and a NERC Urgency Grant
No more than as an atom âmid the vast profound : conceptions of time in the poetry of William Cowper, William Wordsworth, and Ann Yearsley
This chapter discusses conceptions of time in the poetry of William Cowper, William Wordsworth, and Ann Yearsley