The Age of Insects: Gender, Class, Race and the Experience of British Entomology in the Long Nineteenth Century
type: CreativeWork
description: According to John Lubbock, well-known politician and man of science, the long nineteenth century was the Age of Insects, with unparalleled interest in insects across the British Isles and empire. Thus far, histories of British entomology have mostly been dominated by questions of professionalisation. But what happens if we shift the focus to experience? Specifically, the thesis explores three aspects of experience: senses, morals, and emotions. Within their experiences, practitioners of science felt constant tension: for example, between the enjoyment of beauty and objectivity, or the way anxiety and disappointment often existed alongside pleasure. I ask how people negotiated these tensions and argue this was done by self-fashioning, managing emotions, and the development of a special, entomological gaze. The moral and emotional economies of entomology were shaped by a dominant streak of middle-class gentility, which upheld an ideal of the ‘true’ entomologist, defined by a gentlemanly character. This is showcased in debates of the late nineteenth century, which deemed the over-collecting of butterfly species ungentlemanly: those who displayed such ungentlemanliness were publicly shamed. Examining virtues and emotions is necessary for understanding why people practised science; entomology was a moral occupation, but it was also, simply, pleasurable. Emotions act as a connecting medium for scientific communities, and are the glue that holds those communities together. Even objectivity, ostensibly the absence of emotion, is thus revealed to be a method of managing emotions. For example, Margaret Elizabeth Fountaine, an independent butterfly collector, revealed different emotions in different texts: in her public articles, she distanced herself from sentimentality by using narratives of objectivity and imperialism. Her private journals, meanwhile, became an outlet for the feelings of guilt and shame she felt at times when killing butterflies, as well as her great love f…
abstract: According to John Lubbock, well-known politician and man of science, the long nineteenth century was the Age of Insects, with unparalleled interest in insects across the British Isles and empire. Thus far, histories of British entomology have mostly been dominated by questions of professionalisation. But what happens if we shift the focus to experience? Specifically, the thesis explores three aspects of experience: senses, morals, and emotions. Within their experiences, practitioners of science felt constant tension: for example, between the enjoyment of beauty and objectivity, or the way anxiety and disappointment often existed alongside pleasure. I ask how people negotiated these tensions and argue this was done by self-fashioning, managing emotions, and the development of a special, entomological gaze. The moral and emotional economies of entomology were shaped by a dominant streak of middle-class gentility, which upheld an ideal of the ‘true’ entomologist, defined by a gentlemanly character. This is showcased in debates of the late nineteenth century, which deemed the over-collecting of butterfly species ungentlemanly: those who displayed such ungentlemanliness were publicly shamed. Examining virtues and emotions is necessary for understanding why people practised science; entomology was a moral occupation, but it was also, simply, pleasurable. Emotions act as a connecting medium for scientific communities, and are the glue that holds those communities together. Even objectivity, ostensibly the absence of emotion, is thus revealed to be a method of managing emotions. For example, Margaret Elizabeth Fountaine, an independent butterfly collector, revealed different emotions in different texts: in her public articles, she distanced herself from sentimentality by using narratives of objectivity and imperialism. Her private journals, meanwhile, became an outlet for the feelings of guilt and shame she felt at times when killing butterflies, as well as her great love f…
author: Green, Leore Joanne
language: eng
keywords: Disability, Empire, Gender, History of entomology, History of science, Nineteenth century, Race
license: https://apollo8-f-pro.lib.cam.ac.uk/bitstreams/aedab212-c8b3-4f5d-82c6-d6bfc2d7d4d7/download
license: https://www.rioxx.net/licenses/all-rights-reserved/
date published: 2023-11-24
date modified: 2026-07-22T22:24:28Z
provider: Cambridge University
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: University of Cambridge

PropertyValue
property ID: DOI
value: 10.17863/CAM.112909