Victorian Alchemy

Victorian Alchemy explores nineteenth-century conceptions of ancient Egypt as this extant civilisation was being ‘rediscovered’ in the modern world. With its material remnants somewhat paradoxically symbolic of both antiquity and modernity (in the very currentness of Egyptological excavations), anci...

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Autor Principal: Dobson, Eleanor
Formato: Online
Idioma:inglés
Publicado: UCL Press 2022
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Acceso en liña:OCN: 1346385547
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author Dobson, Eleanor
author_browse Dobson, Eleanor
author_facet Dobson, Eleanor
author_sort Dobson, Eleanor
collection Directory of Open Access Books
description Victorian Alchemy explores nineteenth-century conceptions of ancient Egypt as this extant civilisation was being ‘rediscovered’ in the modern world. With its material remnants somewhat paradoxically symbolic of both antiquity and modernity (in the very currentness of Egyptological excavations), ancient Egypt was at once evocative of ancient magical power and of cutting-edge science, a tension that might be productively conceived of as ‘alchemical’. Allusions to ancient Egypt simultaneously lent an air of legitimacy to depictions of the supernatural while projecting a sense of enchantment onto representations of cutting-edge science. Examining literature and other cultural forms including art, photography and early film, Eleanor Dobson traces the myriad ways in which magic and science were perceived as entwined, and ancient Egypt evoked in parallel with various fields of study, from imaging technologies and astronomy, to investigations into the electromagnetic spectrum and the human mind itself. In so doing, counter to linear narratives of nineteenth-century progress, and demonstrating how ancient Egypt was more than a mere setting for Orientalist fantasies or nightmares, the book establishes how conceptions of modernity were inextricably bound up in the contemporary reception of the ancient world, and suggests how such ideas that took root and flourished in the Victorian era persist to this day.
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spelling doab-20.500.12854ir-929692025-08-13T13:42:57Z Victorian Alchemy Dobson, Eleanor ancient Egypt;Victorian literature;18th century;19th century;early film;science;magic;alchemy;art;photography;occultism;spiritualism;esotericism;astronomy;time travel;physics;electricity;x-rays;optics;theatre;psychology thema EDItEUR::D Biography, Literature and Literary studies::D Biography, Literature and Literary studies::DS Literature: history and criticism thema EDItEUR::N History and Archaeology::NK Archaeology::NKD Archaeology by period / region thema EDItEUR::1 Place qualifiers::1Q Other geographical groupings: Oceans and seas, historical, political etc::1QB Historical states, empires, territories and regions::1QBA Ancient World::1QBAE Ancient Egypt thema EDItEUR::Q Philosophy and Religion::QR Religion and beliefs::QRS Ancient religions and Mythologies::QRSA Ancient Egyptian religion and mythology thema EDItEUR::D Biography, Literature and Literary studies::D Biography, Literature and Literary studies::DS Literature: history and criticism thema EDItEUR::N History and Archaeology::NK Archaeology::NKD Archaeology by period / region thema EDItEUR::1 Place qualifiers::1Q Other geographical groupings: Oceans and seas, historical, political etc::1QB Historical states, empires, territories and regions::1QBA Ancient World::1QBAE Ancient Egypt thema EDItEUR::Q Philosophy and Religion::QR Religion and beliefs::QRS Ancient religions and Mythologies::QRSA Ancient Egyptian religion and mythology Victorian Alchemy explores nineteenth-century conceptions of ancient Egypt as this extant civilisation was being ‘rediscovered’ in the modern world. With its material remnants somewhat paradoxically symbolic of both antiquity and modernity (in the very currentness of Egyptological excavations), ancient Egypt was at once evocative of ancient magical power and of cutting-edge science, a tension that might be productively conceived of as ‘alchemical’. Allusions to ancient Egypt simultaneously lent an air of legitimacy to depictions of the supernatural while projecting a sense of enchantment onto representations of cutting-edge science. Examining literature and other cultural forms including art, photography and early film, Eleanor Dobson traces the myriad ways in which magic and science were perceived as entwined, and ancient Egypt evoked in parallel with various fields of study, from imaging technologies and astronomy, to investigations into the electromagnetic spectrum and the human mind itself. In so doing, counter to linear narratives of nineteenth-century progress, and demonstrating how ancient Egypt was more than a mere setting for Orientalist fantasies or nightmares, the book establishes how conceptions of modernity were inextricably bound up in the contemporary reception of the ancient world, and suggests how such ideas that took root and flourished in the Victorian era persist to this day. 2022-10-20T04:08:14Z 2022-10-20T04:08:14Z 2022-10-19T11:25:29Z 2022 book OCN: 1346385547 https://library.oapen.org/handle/20.500.12657/58945 9781787358492 9781787358508 9781787358515 1787358522978 https://directory.doabooks.org/handle/20.500.12854/92969 eng open access image/jpeg image/jpeg image/jpeg Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International https://library.oapen.org/bitstream/20.500.12657/58945/1/9781787358485.pdf https://library.oapen.org/bitstream/20.500.12657/58945/1/9781787358485.pdf https://library.oapen.org/bitstream/20.500.12657/58945/1/9781787358485.pdf UCL Press 10.14324/111.9781787358485 10.14324/111.9781787358485 29b9f0a3-1b0d-4bdd-99d7-b4d3432d7fcc 9781787358492 9781787358508 9781787358515 1787358522978 279 London open access
spellingShingle ancient Egypt;Victorian literature;18th century;19th century;early film;science;magic;alchemy;art;photography;occultism;spiritualism;esotericism;astronomy;time travel;physics;electricity;x-rays;optics;theatre;psychology
thema EDItEUR::D Biography, Literature and Literary studies::D Biography, Literature and Literary studies::DS Literature: history and criticism
thema EDItEUR::N History and Archaeology::NK Archaeology::NKD Archaeology by period / region
thema EDItEUR::1 Place qualifiers::1Q Other geographical groupings: Oceans and seas, historical, political etc::1QB Historical states, empires, territories and regions::1QBA Ancient World::1QBAE Ancient Egypt
thema EDItEUR::Q Philosophy and Religion::QR Religion and beliefs::QRS Ancient religions and Mythologies::QRSA Ancient Egyptian religion and mythology
thema EDItEUR::D Biography, Literature and Literary studies::D Biography, Literature and Literary studies::DS Literature: history and criticism
thema EDItEUR::N History and Archaeology::NK Archaeology::NKD Archaeology by period / region
thema EDItEUR::1 Place qualifiers::1Q Other geographical groupings: Oceans and seas, historical, political etc::1QB Historical states, empires, territories and regions::1QBA Ancient World::1QBAE Ancient Egypt
thema EDItEUR::Q Philosophy and Religion::QR Religion and beliefs::QRS Ancient religions and Mythologies::QRSA Ancient Egyptian religion and mythology
Dobson, Eleanor
Victorian Alchemy
title Victorian Alchemy
title_full Victorian Alchemy
title_fullStr Victorian Alchemy
title_full_unstemmed Victorian Alchemy
title_short Victorian Alchemy
title_sort victorian alchemy
topic ancient Egypt;Victorian literature;18th century;19th century;early film;science;magic;alchemy;art;photography;occultism;spiritualism;esotericism;astronomy;time travel;physics;electricity;x-rays;optics;theatre;psychology
thema EDItEUR::D Biography, Literature and Literary studies::D Biography, Literature and Literary studies::DS Literature: history and criticism
thema EDItEUR::N History and Archaeology::NK Archaeology::NKD Archaeology by period / region
thema EDItEUR::1 Place qualifiers::1Q Other geographical groupings: Oceans and seas, historical, political etc::1QB Historical states, empires, territories and regions::1QBA Ancient World::1QBAE Ancient Egypt
thema EDItEUR::Q Philosophy and Religion::QR Religion and beliefs::QRS Ancient religions and Mythologies::QRSA Ancient Egyptian religion and mythology
thema EDItEUR::D Biography, Literature and Literary studies::D Biography, Literature and Literary studies::DS Literature: history and criticism
thema EDItEUR::N History and Archaeology::NK Archaeology::NKD Archaeology by period / region
thema EDItEUR::1 Place qualifiers::1Q Other geographical groupings: Oceans and seas, historical, political etc::1QB Historical states, empires, territories and regions::1QBA Ancient World::1QBAE Ancient Egypt
thema EDItEUR::Q Philosophy and Religion::QR Religion and beliefs::QRS Ancient religions and Mythologies::QRSA Ancient Egyptian religion and mythology
topic_facet ancient Egypt;Victorian literature;18th century;19th century;early film;science;magic;alchemy;art;photography;occultism;spiritualism;esotericism;astronomy;time travel;physics;electricity;x-rays;optics;theatre;psychology
thema EDItEUR::D Biography, Literature and Literary studies::D Biography, Literature and Literary studies::DS Literature: history and criticism
thema EDItEUR::N History and Archaeology::NK Archaeology::NKD Archaeology by period / region
thema EDItEUR::1 Place qualifiers::1Q Other geographical groupings: Oceans and seas, historical, political etc::1QB Historical states, empires, territories and regions::1QBA Ancient World::1QBAE Ancient Egypt
thema EDItEUR::Q Philosophy and Religion::QR Religion and beliefs::QRS Ancient religions and Mythologies::QRSA Ancient Egyptian religion and mythology
thema EDItEUR::D Biography, Literature and Literary studies::D Biography, Literature and Literary studies::DS Literature: history and criticism
thema EDItEUR::N History and Archaeology::NK Archaeology::NKD Archaeology by period / region
thema EDItEUR::1 Place qualifiers::1Q Other geographical groupings: Oceans and seas, historical, political etc::1QB Historical states, empires, territories and regions::1QBA Ancient World::1QBAE Ancient Egypt
thema EDItEUR::Q Philosophy and Religion::QR Religion and beliefs::QRS Ancient religions and Mythologies::QRSA Ancient Egyptian religion and mythology
url OCN: 1346385547
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