John Tresch, professor of history and sociology of science, was recently awarded the 2013 Pfizer Award for Best Scholarly Book from the History of Science Society.
His book, “The Romantic Machine,” takes an in-depth look at a time in history when the conflicting fields of science and Romanticism were intertwined.
In the early 19th century, at the height of the Industrial Revolution, people relied heavily on a mechanical understanding of the world. The Romantic era, however, soon arose as a reaction to this belief and an attempt to think of the world as what Tresch described as a “living, growing thing where people develop spontaneously.”
Tresch was initially interested in the history of anthropology before the history of science. After studying anthropology as an undergraduate, he wanted to know more about why different groups of people and different periods of time described how the world works in so many conflicting ways.
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This scholarly about-face is not uncommon, Tresch explained. The history of science can help us understand a lot of anthropological questions about why some societies — especially those in the western world — trust technology and industry more than faith or mysticism. “I realized that there are a lot of different ways that people might put the world together,” he said.
In one way, Tresch’s book is about the history of this conflict and how these two schools of thought still exist today.
After discovering Edgar Allen Poe’s little-known scientific works from this period, however, Tresch started to look past this initial historical conflict. He discovered that from 1820 to 1850, many artists and scientists in France were actually working together to create what he called “a lot of really interesting syntheses between the mechanical and the organic.”
“There were a lot of artists in France at this time who were interested in science, and then there were scientists who were totally invested in enhancing the arts… and making science a form of entertainment,” Tresch said. For example, scientists that studied sound and acoustics would work closely with architects to design concert halls.
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The fact that these two opposite philosophies worked together at one point in time is a “philosophical underpinning to a lot of investigations about the evolution of technology,” he added.
Karen Darling, the acquiring editor for science studies at the University of Chicago Press, heard about Tresch’s work from a colleague before helping him publish. She thought it was “so original” in contrast to how people usually approach the conflicting subjects of science and Romanticism.
“John’s book is important because it not only makes a fascinating case for how we ought to rethink our assumptions about 19th-century France… It also serves as a model for how to do history,” Darling said.
Prior to receiving the 2013 Pfizer Prize, “The Romantic Machine” was recognized by the New Museum in New York as one of 2012’s best books. “It’s gratifying to know that people who are so interested in contemporary arts saw my book as interesting and [attention-grabbing] in that world,” Tresch said.
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Today, Tresch teaches a course called “Edgar Allen Poe’s Science.” He is the former chair of the Program in Science, Technology, and Society and has been invited by programs at Penn and in Philadelphia to give seminars on “The Romantic Machine” since its publication in 2012.
College senior Derek Chilvers is currently enrolled in his second class with Tresch. “His passion for science and technology — and, evidently, Edgar Allen Poe — makes it a pleasure to be his student,” Chilvers said.
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