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Alexander von Humboldt

Alexander von Humboldt

Perceiving the World

Edited by Beate I. Allert, Christopher R. Clason, Niall A. Peach and Ricardo Quintana-Vallejo

282 Pages, 6.00 x 9.00 in, 5 Illustrations

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9781612498294 | Published: July 2023

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9781612498287 | Published: July 2023

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9781612498300 | Published: July 2023

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9781612498317 | Published: July 2023

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Description
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Alexander von Humboldt: Perceiving the World provides an interdisciplinary exploration into Humboldt’s approach to seeing and describing the many subjects he pursued. Though remembered primarily as an environmental thinker, Humboldt’s interests were vast and documented not just in his published works, but also in his extensive correspondence with scientists, artists, poets, and philosophers internationally. Perceiving the World covers Humboldt’s perceptions during intercontinental travels and scientific discoveries, as well as how he visualized nature, geography, environments, and diverse cultures, including Indigenous Peoples.

This collection draws heavily on the English translations of Humboldt’s work housed in the Purdue University Archives, which were collected by John Purdue. The book is divided into three parts: Humboldt’s contributions to science since the nineteenth century; his work on nature, climates, environments, and the cosmos; and his lasting cultural impact, including his imaging techniques, modes of visual presentation, and contributions to the arts. Humboldt’s intricate approach to perception still resonates today, as his nuanced and unique way of seeing the world was just as important as what he wrote.

Preface
Introduction
PART I: CULTURAL IMPACT
1 Indiana Reads Alexander von Humboldt, by Ricardo Quintana-Vallejo
2 Alexander von Humboldt: Between Enlightenment Vitalism and Romantic Naturphilosophie, by Peter Hanns Reill
3 Alexander von Humboldt and Peter Schlemihl: The Image of the Scientific Explorer in Early Nineteenth-Century German Literature, by Christopher R. Clason
4 The Meeting of Two Alexanders: Causes and Consequences of Humboldt’s and Pushkin’s Mutual Admiration, by Andrew Kroninger
PART II: ON NATURE AND ENVIRONMENT
5 Alexander von Humboldt’s Environmental Holism, by Melanie Swan
6 Alexander von Humboldt’s Lonely Parrot in Views of Nature, by Joseph D. Rockelmann 7 Re-Rivering New Spain: Transatlantic Politics of Knowledge and Water in Alexander von Humboldt, by Niall A. Peach
PART III: HUMBOLDT FROM ART TO SCIENCE AND SCIENCE AS ART
8 Beseelte Natur: Alexander von Humboldt and Data-Driven Paradigm Segues, by Ralph M. Kaufmann
9 Alexander von Humboldt beyond Planet Earth: Exploring the Infinite and Unreachable in Kosmos, by Christina M. Weiler
10 Art and Aesthetics in Alexander von Humboldt: The Subterranean Tree and Other Images, by Beate I. Allert
Biographies of Contributors

Beate I. Allert is professor of German, comparative literature, and film studies, and director of comparative literature at Purdue University. She is the author or editor of five books, and her research focuses on the Enlightenment, Weimar Classicism, Romanticism, visuality, text-image debates, environmentalism, temporality, and color. She served as vice president and president of the International Herder Society.

Christopher R. Clason is professor emeritus of German at Oakland University in Rochester, Michigan. He has authored numerous articles on Romantic and medieval subjects, and is the editor of E.T.A. Hoffmann: Transgressive Romanticism. He is a past president of the International Conference on Romanticism and the International Tristan Society.

Niall A. Peach is assistant professor of Spanish at Coe College. His research encompasses the environmental humanities, and the racial, transatlantic, and neo-imperial politics of the nineteenth to twentieth centuries in Latin America. He is a past recipient of the Bilsland Fellowship for his research on race and gardens.

Ricardo Quintana-Vallejo is assistant professor of English at Rhode Island College. He is the author of Children of Globalization: Diasporic Coming-of-Age Novels in Germany, England, and the United States. He has been a Lynn and Fulbright fellow.

"Alexander von Humboldt: Perceiving the World, a wonderful collection of essays edited by Beate I. Allert, Christopher R. Clason, Niall A. Peach, and Ricardo Quintana-Vallejo, reflects on Humboldt as a scientist, explorer, environmentalist, and man of letters. It offers much new material about his person and work, and contributes greatly to our understanding of this preeminent scholar." — Liliane Weissberg, Christopher H. Browne Distinguished Professor in Arts and Sciences, University of Pennsylvania

"Beautifully elucidating Humboldt's transdisciplinary writings in light of contemporary discussions ranging from antislavery debates and the machinations of colonial empires to the environmental humanities, Alexander von Humboldt: Perceiving the World sheds significant new light on the famous German explorer and mountain climber. The essays take the reader on a breathtaking tour through Humboldt's surprising influence on the state of Indiana, his revolutionarily ecological botany and important impact on both Adelbert von Chamisso and Alexander Pushkin, the influence of his study of art on his vision of nature, and, fabulously, all the way into Kosmos's outer space; it's an important journey and a must-read volume." —Heather I. Sullivan, professor of German and comparative literature, Trinity University

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