Making Animals Talk. Logistics, Science and Display


Located at the interface between the history of science, of logistics and as well as cultural and environmental history, the subproject asks how animals in and through the Berlin collections were and are turned into objects of knowledge and as such are made to speak. The focus is on the production, transfer and transformation processes of animal-objects, knowledge and practices from the 19th to the 21st century. The questions at the heart of the project are twofold. Through different case studies, the project firstly aims at tracing the paths of individual objects or species in and through institutions with a focus on local and global logistics and transport routes, dealer networks, collecting and catching practices. Central questions include: From where, through whom and on which routes did the animals enter the zoo, educational collection or museum? How do supply chains, trading routes and transport practices differ for live and dead animals, for aquatic and terrestrial animals, and how have the logistical, scientific and economic practices of transfers changed? Building on this, the second focus is on the techniques and practices of safekeeping, processing and presentation in the respective institutions - keeping live animals in zoos, aquariums and zoos; preparation and disposal in museums and zoological teaching collections.


Principal investigators
Lange, Britta PD Dr. (Details) (Knowledge and Cultural History)

Financer
BMBF

Duration of project
Start date: 09/2018
End date: 12/2021

Last updated on 2022-07-09 at 19:06