Assyriology at the margins: the case of William St. Chad Boscawen (1855-1913)
This study presents the career of late-nineteenth-century Assyriologist William St. Chad Boscawen (1855–1913) as a case study in recovering contributions to knowledge-making by low-status, marginal actors. Boscawen took Assyriological knowledge and expertise, gained at the British Museum, into a new...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Cambridge Univ. Press
2016
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| In: |
Iraq
Year: 2015, Volume: 77, Pages: 107-128 |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Summary: | This study presents the career of late-nineteenth-century Assyriologist William St. Chad Boscawen (1855–1913) as a case study in recovering contributions to knowledge-making by low-status, marginal actors. Boscawen took Assyriological knowledge and expertise, gained at the British Museum, into a new disciplinary setting: a private museum of history of medicine, owned by pharmaceuticals entrepreneur Henry Wellcome (1853–1936). Yet his relocation was only partially successful, and his contributions to knowledge were transient. I employ a sociological framework to explore how social factors, as much as academic ones, influenced Boscawen's career trajectory. In doing so, I argue that studying marginal figures offers a richer understanding of past Assyriological practices and the wider research community in which the most prominent figures operated. |
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| ISSN: | 2053-4744 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Iraq
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1017/irq.2015.10 |