The Hybrid Shore: The Marine Station Movement and Scientific Uses of the Littoral (1843 – 1910)

• In Event: Collecting the Sea

Abstract

Histories of the marine sciences in the late 19th and early 20th centuries often ignore developments in France, focusing instead on oceanographic expeditions carried out by England and the United States. However, France was at the forefront of early developments in costal marine biology and more marine biological stations were built there than anywhere else during this period. Preeminent among the French marine stations were the laboratories of Roscoff and Arago. To understand why these stations succeeded in helping to propel French marine biology to the fore we must consider questions of place and space. French marine stations were hybrid spaces, providing naturalists with new kinds of access to marine environments. They also permitted scientists, students, and workers of different status and background to collaborate. While the French government did not support large-scale oceanographic ventures, marine stations garnered support because they aided local fisheries and embodied a republican vision of science that associated national glory with scientific research and public education.

Author

• Antony Adler, University of Washington