This event has ended. You can watch the recorded program below.Â
Visual evidence and illustrations are among the most compelling parts of early modern scientific books. Illustrations facilitate deeper understanding of complex concepts and ideas, and also surprise the viewer in interesting ways. Using four books (by Otto Brunfels 1530, Leonhart Fuchs 1542, Andreas Vesalius 1543 and Robert Hooke 1665) from the Library’s collection, join scholar Sachiko Kusukawa and Jason W. Dean on a thoughtful discussion about the purposes, uses, and perceptions of images and illustrations in early modern science and printing.
This program will be presented virtually via Zoom webinar.
Professor Sachiko Kusukawa is a Fellow in the History and Philosophy of Science at Trinity College, Cambridge.  She is the principal investigator of the AHRC-funded project, ‘Making Visible: the visual and graphic practices of the early Royal Society’ (2015-2019).
Her research specialism is in the fields of history of science, cultural and intellectual history, the history of the book and libraries. Her recent research has focused on the observational, descriptive and pictorial practices in the development and production of scientific knowledge in the early modern period (1500-1720).
She was co-investigator in the AHRC-funded research project on 'Diagrams, figures and the transformation of astronomy 1450-1650' (Dept of History and Philosophy of Science, Cambridge), which examined the function of astronomical figures and diagrams in early modern astronomy, and Principal Investigator of an international network, 'Origins of Science as a Visual Pursuit: the case of the early Royal Society' also funded by the AHRC.
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She is the author of Picturing the book of nature: image, text and argument in sixteenth-century human anatomy and medical botany (2012), and has curated an on-line exhibition of Andreas Vesalius, 'Vivitur ingenio', which was featured by the BBC.
Dr. Kusukawa was educated in Germany and Japan. She was a graduate student at Trinity College, where she obtained her MPhil and PhD in history of science.
Jason W. Dean is Vice President for Special Collections at the Linda Hall Library, the world’s foremost independent research library devoted to science, engineering, and technology. His undergraduate degree in history is from Hardin-Simmons University, and his MS LIS is from Syracuse University. Jason has also completed coursework at Rare Book School at the University of Virginia.
Prior to coming to Linda Hall Library, Jason was Director of Special Collections & Archives at Southwestern University. He has previously held positions at the University of Arkansas and Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art.
His areas of research interest include special collections administration, American color printing, the work of Carl Hertzog, the life and work of S. Fred Prince, and metadata for rare books and special collections.
Jason is a member of the Grolier Club, and a past IMLS-RBS fellow. He is active in several professional organizations related to history, rare books, and archives.
