[Techniques of mediation. Chemistry as a combination of work, teaching and research: the case of J. F. A. Göttling].
Atypical career of a chemist in Germany around 1800 consisted of being trained as an apothecary, followed by an occupation as a professor at a university or another institution of higher education. These conditions deeply influenced the concept and the practice of chemistry as a science. Johann Friedrich August Göttling is an intriguing example for merging education and daily duties of teaching with the self-image of a scientific chemist. He linked chemical teaching, work, and research by using different hybrid media, such as the Almanach oder Taschenbuch für Scheidekünstler und Apotheker, a stove specifically designed for the narrow student's room, portable laboratories, a pharmaceutical boarding school and textbooks. This allowed him to practice three different forms of chemistry as a science. A "socio-epistemological diagram" of German chemistry around 1800 shows that these forms neatly corresponded to the then predominant three-level epistemology. In particular, the concept of a chemical fact served to link pharmaceutical practice with teaching practice, while granting only the chemistry done by professors the status of a science.
Frercks
Jan
J
Hochschule für Gestaltung Offenbach, Offenbach am Main. jan.frercks@t-online.de
D002621:Chemistry / Q000266:history*; D004501:Education, Medical / Q000266:history*; D005180:Faculty, Medical / Q000266:history*; D005858:Germany; D049671:History, 18th Century; D049672:History, 19th Century; D006801:Humans; D019359:Knowledge; D007753:Laboratories / Q000266:history; D024382:Professional Role / Q000266:history*; D012106:Research / Q000266:history; D013663:Teaching / Q000266:history