Re-Evaluating the Geographical and Chronological Scope of the Republic of Letters: The Case Study of New Zealand
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2021-02-17
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en
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Abstract
This thesis presents a case study of the letters and journals written by three generations of intellectual British men who sailed to New Zealand between 1769 and 1868 to argue for a re-evaluation of the geographical and chronological boundaries of the Republic of Letters (henceforth RoL) as a knowledge system. The case study of New Zealand will explore if the geographical and chronological boundaries can and should be extended to include New Zealand and (part of) the nineteenth century. A content analysis via a close reading approach is applied to study the letters and journals. Specifically, the four characteristics that historians have derived from RoL correspondences and define the RoL as a knowledge system are used to analyse the letters and journals of the intellectual men. These characteristics are: the production of knowledge; the regular exchange of knowledge; the presence of a scholarly personae; and the formation of correspondent clusters.
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Faculteit der Letteren