Chemistry courses, the Parisian chemical world and the chemical revolution, 1770-1790.
The last two decades of the ancien régime saw a rapid growth in the number of chemistry courses being offered in Paris. These courses were central to the continuing popularisation of chemistry, but they played an equally important role in the development of a large and dynamic community of chemical practitioners in Paris. They indicate that this community was undergoing major changes: rapid growth that challenged the position and authority of the Académie; expanding opportunities for making a career in and around the teaching of chemistry; new ways of organising research; a change in the relationship between pharmacy and chemistry; and the emergence of new forms of scientific sociability. These developments pre-date the chemical and political revolutions, and provide the context for a broader understanding of both the Chemical Revolution and the politically contested history of chemistry during the Revolution and Empire.
Perkins
John
J
Centre for Health, Medicine and Society, Oxford Brookes University, UK. jperkins@brookes.ac.uk
D002621:Chemistry / Q000193:education / Q000266:history*; D003479:Curriculum; D016208:Databases, Factual; D000077406:History of Pharmacy; D049671:History, 18th Century; D010297:Paris; D013663:Teaching / Q000266:history*; D014495:Universities / Q000266:history