Under the Microscope: Journalistes vs. Rapporteurs at the Académie des Sciences, 1824–1836

Time: 12:00 to 1:00pm

Location: Chemical Heritage Foundation

During the 1820s the extent and power of the political press in Paris expanded by leaps and bounds, culminating in the Revolution of 1830, led in the main by journalists themselves. Coverage of Parisian science, and of meetings of the Académie des Sciences in particular, was a central aspect of this media world. But this science journalism was not primarily a matter of popularizing science: it was just as much about defining the legitimate publics to which scientific claims about the world ought to be addressed in general. The Académie’s own claim to constitute such a public was embodied in its rapports, its written judgments on manuscripts and inventions submitted for its approval. This talk explores the changing relationship between journalistes and rapporteurs during this period, with particular attention to a long-running controversy over microscopes. This controversy prompted major changes in the Académie’s relationship to the press in 1835, when it founded its own weekly journal, the Comptes rendus hebdomadaires.

Alex Csiszar is an assistant professor in the Department of the History of Science at Harvard University. He researches the history of scientific authorship, publishing, and information management in Britain and France, from the French Revolution to the 20th century.