David Aubin: "The Various Identities of a Worker-Astronomer in Provincial France, 1870s–1890s"

Research presentation by David Aubin, Sorbonne University, Paris.

Abstract

Between 1873 and 1895, the industrial worker who identified as Léger-Vergniaud sent several hundreds of letters to the local newspapers of Saint-Etienne in central France. This exceptional resource allows us to make sense of a popular scientific practice and put it back into its original context. Comparing it with other cases that are much less documented, we can moreover examine the various identities between that of charlatan and amateur available to a rural migrant in the city who wished to take part in the scientific movement. This inquiry brings to light processes of knowledge hybridation far remove from mere scientific popularization.