CEU Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020
| Author | Lukic, Dejan |
|---|---|
| Title | A Strong Class of Serious Scholars: The Power Dynamics of Knowledge Production in the Earth Sciences in Serbia, 1880-1914 |
| Summary | This dissertation examines the social and political factors that conditioned the establishment of the earth sciences in Serbia during the long nineteenth century. It presents the development of scientific circles, institutions, and practices on the European periphery and analyses the power dynamics that stood behind them. At the beginning of the nineteenth century, Serbia was an Ottoman province that was striving to become an independent nation state, in which it ultimately succeeded in 1878. Science was in Serbia intrinsically dependent on the process of state-building and the formation of state elites, in which scholars became the carriers of the process of the transformation of society. The formation of scientific circles, their recognition in Serbian society, and the establishment of institutional, educational, and research practices depended on their successful embeddedness in the contemporary political, intellectual, and social networks. This study exemplifies how notions of expertise and epistemic fields were constructed in the earth sciences, and how scholars divided research and responsibilities among themselves. Through the examination of personal notes, diaries, correspondence, and scientific publications, I have identified the power dynamics and strategies that led some of them to achieve the status of experts, recognised as such either by their colleagues, or by the state administration. In this respect, I have given special attention to the role that state and politics had on the dynamics of these circles, as well as to the role international scientific networks played in the recognition of their expertise. Particular focus is given to the careers of Jovan Žujović and Jovan Cvijić, who established scientific circles around them. Žujović became the primary organiser of scientific research in mineralogy, petrography, geology, palaeontology, and seismology by mobilising his students to study abroad and conduct research in earth sciences. The expansion of the circle led to the creation and division of separate scientific sub-disciplines in which scholars established their expertise. Through the interaction with international scientific networks, these scholars were looking for recognition and affirmation of Belgrade as a new international scientific centre. In this endeavour, Jovan Cvijić turned out to be the most successful. Because of his pragmatically chosen topics, he managed to distinguish himself both internationally and in Serbian public opinion. Both Žujović and Cvijić managed to assert themselves as the founding figures of Serbian science, yet that role depended on their social and political capital as much as it did on their academic capital. Science was strongly embedded in social and political processes and its development was conditioned by successful interaction across multiple social networks. |
| Supervisor | Hall, Karl |
| Department | History PhD |
| Full text | https://www.etd.ceu.edu/2020/lukic_dejan.pdf |
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