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Abstract C Thomas Humboldts Kosmos Lectures CfP Versioning Cultural Objects

Christian Thomas, Humboldt-University Berlin (Germany), christian.thomas.1@staff.hu-berlin.de: "You Can’t Put Your Arms Around a Memory: The Multiple Versions of Alexander von Humboldt’s »Kosmos-Lectures« (1827/28)." Full Paper for the Symposium Versioning Cultural Objects: Concepts, Structures and Expressions, 1-2 December 2016, An Foras Feasa, Maynooth University (Ireland) Abstract: In our contribution to the Versioning Cultural Objects Symposium we would like to present a collection of primary sources related to Alexander von Humboldt’s world-famous »Kosmos-Lectures«. These lectures, held in Berlin in 1827/28, mark a milestone in the history of sciences and their popularization. Given their indisputable significance, surprisingly little research has been conducted on the lectures. One reason for this was, until recently, the lack of primary sources available. With the online-publication of all currently known lecture notes by attendees of the »Kosmos-Lectures« and the ongoing digitisation of Humboldt’s legacy collection, this situation has changed significantly: While beforehand we had too few, it now seems as if we had too many witnesses—or: versions—of Humboldt’s lectures.