The cultural meaning of popular science : phrenology and the organization of consent in nineteenth-century Britain
This study of the popularity of phrenology in the second quarter of the nineteenth century concentrates on the social and ideological functions of science during the consolidation of urban industrial society. It is influenced by Foucault, by recent work in the history and sociology of science, by critical theory, and by cultural anthropology.
XII, 418 p. ; 22 cm
9780521227438, 0521227437
911308499
List of illustrations; Preface; Note on sources and abbreviations; Introduction; Part I. Historiography: 1. From out the cerebral well; Part II. Science and Social Interests: 2. The social sense of brain; 3. The rites of passage; Part III. Popular Science: 4. George Combe and the remolding of man's constitution; 5. The poacher turned gamekeeper: phrenologists abroad; 6. Secular methodism; Part IV. Radical Appropriation and Critique: 7. Richard Carlile and infidel science; 8. On standing socialism on its head; Conclusion; Appendix; Notes; Manuscript sources and public documents; Phrenological journals; Bibliographical index; General index.