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Knowing with Images in the Age of Exploration: Maps, Monsters, and Natural History, by Surekha Davies

Surekha Davies, Postdoctoral Fellow, Utrecht University

This talk is part of the Borders & Belonging Series, sponsored by the UCI Humanities Center and the History Department.

How might we recognize and analyze scientific images from the past, without assuming that images that look different from what we expect are inaccurate or imaginary? This talk explores this question through images of sea monsters and Patagonian giants, two life-forms that appear frequently on early modern European maps. By analyzing the part played by map images in the Renaissance study of nature, it suggests new directions for early modern studies, and for research across disciplines on vision, nature, and the practice of science.