Session 07: Staffan Müller-Wille

Session 7 (Intervention)
Staffan Müller-Wille: Generation and Creation

Intervention just means that we'll do something short and, ideally, provocative, to inspire discussion. I wanted to say a few words about the source only, really, to the effect that behind Harvey's ideas lurk fears about the end of patriarchal order, and waht, if anything, may restore that order (There's a paper on that, Keller, Eve. “Making up for Losses. The Workings of Gender in William Harvey’s ‘De Generatione Animalium’.” In Inventing Maternity. Politics, Science, and Literature, 1650-1865, edited by Susan C. Greenfield and Carol Barash, 34–56. Lexington: Univ. of Kentucky Pr., 1999. Maybe you want to take a look at that, and also, perhaps, at what i've written on Harvey in Mueller-Wille and Rheinberger, A Cultural History of Heredity, Univ. Chicago Pr. 2012).

Michelle Wallis, with your specialism, I suggest that you look out for cheap print items that have something to do with that (admittedly) general theme. 1651, when De gen. animalium was published, was right within the Cromwell Interregnum, there should be a lot of interesting stuff to say about political discourse and (re-)creation of life.

Sounds great, Staffan. Hopefully I will have time to sort something out tomorrow.

It is always intriguing to see how busy younger colleagues are.

staffan