Time: June 5, 2026, 15:00–17:00
Venue: Room B206, Humanities Building, Tsinghua University
Topic: Commerce and the Sublime: Popular Astronomy Lectures in 19th-Century Britain
Speaker: Associate Professor Huang Xiangfu (School of History, Nankai University)
Lecture Abstract:
Popular astronomy lectures in 19th-century Britain originated from the public experimental demonstrations of natural philosophy in the 18th century. A "dramatic" transformation took place at the end of the 18th century, where theatrical stage facilities and large-scale visual aids were used to enhance audio-visual effects, thus transforming into large-scale performances that combined entertainment and education. This study analyzes contemporary astronomy lectures from the perspectives of "commercial" and "sublime" characteristics. The former refers to the profit-driven nature of this industry: astronomy lectures coexist and compete with other performances in the mass entertainment market to win audience support. The latter means that the rhetoric and content of astronomy lectures often appeal to "sublime" concepts in philosophy, religion, or ethics, evoking the religious emotions of awe and wonder towards the universe and the Creator through the use of natural theological vocabulary, as well as visual and musical sensory experiences. This study pays particular attention to lecturers outside the scientific elite. Their commercial efforts developed various types of astronomy programs, including Lent performances in theatres, courses hosted by scientific institutions or mechanics' institutes, and lectures touring local towns and rural areas. Their activities help us understand the rich diversity of 19th-century public scientific culture and the complex entanglement of science, religion, and popular culture.
Speaker Profile:
Huang Xiangfu, born in 1982 in Taoyuan, Taiwan, holds a PhD in the History and Philosophy of Science from University College London (UCL). He is currently an Associate Professor and Master's supervisor at the School of History, Nankai University. He has previously served as a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Institute of Modern History, Academia Sinica, Taiwan, and a Visiting Scholar at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and the Institute of History and Philology, Academia Sinica, Taiwan. He has presided over one project funded by the Liberal Arts Development Fund of Nankai University and one project funded by the Tianjin Social Science Fund. His research interests include modern world history, the history of British science, and cultural history.