The Form of Becoming

Embryology and the Epistemology of Rhythm, 1760–1830

Janina Wellmann (Leuphana Universität Lüneburg), Kate Sturge

$99.95 $84.76

Hardback

Not in-store but you can order this
How long will it take?

Availability Information

We source books from suppliers in Australia and overseas. For books we don't currently have in stock, the time it takes to get them from our suppliers can vary widely - from a few days to a few months - so we check each book with each supplier to determine the expected time it will take to be supplied to us.

We then advise you accordingly. If the time taken to get any book is too long for you, you can let us know and we will cancel or adjust your order, and refund as required.

To find out the anticipated arrival time for specific items prior to ordering, please contact us by phone or email:

Phone +61 2 9264 3111, or 1800 4 BOOKS (1800 4 26657) if outside Sydney:
option 1 Abbey's Bookshop (Crime, History, Science, Kids & more) • info@abbeys.com.au
option 2 Language Book Centre (ESL & Foreign Languages) • language@abbeys.com.au
option 3 Galaxy Bookshop (Sci-fi, Fantasy, Romance, Graphic Novels) • sf@galaxybooks.com.au

QTY:

English

Zone Books
04 April 2017

Philosophy: epistemology & theory of knowledge; History of science

Series: Zone Books

An examination of the constitutive role of rhythm and movement in the visualization of developing life.

In The Form of Becoming Janina Wellmann offers an innovative understanding of the emergence around 1800 of the science of embryology and a new notion of development, one based on the epistemology of rhythm. She argues that between 1760 and 1830, the concept of rhythm became crucial to many fields of knowledge, including the study of life and living processes. She juxtaposes the history of rhythm in music theory, literary theory, and philosophy with the concurrent turn in biology toward understanding the living world in terms of rhythmic patterns, rhythmic movement, and rhythmic representations. Common to all these fields was their view of rhythm as a means of organizing time-and of ordering the development of organisms. With The Form of Becoming, Wellmann, a historian of science, has written the first systematic study of visualization in embryology. Embryological development circa 1800 was imagined through the pictorial technique of the series, still prevalent in the field today. Tracing the origins of the developmental series back to seventeenth-century instructional graphics for military maneuvers, dance, and craft work, The Form of Becoming reveals the constitutive role of rhythm and movement in the visualization of developing life.

By: Janina Wellmann (Leuphana Universität Lüneburg)
Translated by: Kate Sturge
Imprint: Zone Books
Country of Publication: United States
Dimensions: Height: 229mm, Width: 152mm, Spine: 32mm
Weight: 710g
ISBN: 9781935408765
ISBN 10: 1935408763
Series: Zone Books
Pages: 424
Publication Date: 04 April 2017
Recommended Age: From 18
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active

Janina Wellmann is a researcher at Leuphana Universität Lüneburg.

Reviews for The Form of Becoming: Embryology and the Epistemology of Rhythm, 1760–1830

At the core of Wellmann's analysis is not a description of beauty per se, but an observation about the limits of description when confronted with living systems, and the role of the observer's own creativity in defining methods of approach. Wellmann's meticulious survey through the landscape of thought between the years 1760-1830 explores a period when the central figures of the time, such as Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, did not see such harsh distinctions between their poetic, philosophical, and scientific projects.-BOMB magazine