The Need for Imaging in Science : An Object Biographical Case Study of Félix Thibert’s Moulages

This thesis investigates a part of the material culture of higher education through an object biographical case study of Félix Thibert’s moulages. The object biography operates with a diachronic perspective that offers an object-centered historiography of university collections, revealing that the need for collecting and imaging in science consistently remains, even though the role and significance of pathological moulages in research and education have changed over time. The moulages are epistemic things as described by Hans-Jörg Rheinberger. They embody what we do not yet know and they become marginalized when no one expects them to generate new discoveries. Their ontology and function are dependent on the dominating epistemic culture. John V. Pickstone outlines three ways of knowing, which gradually have dominated since the Renaissance: natural history, analysis and experiment. Thibert’s moulages are clearly anchored in analysis as a way of knowing for which the museum is an important arena. The findings of this thesis show that university museums and their collections were of immense importance for the production of knowledge during the 19th century, while today they often fall short of their knowledge-generating potential. There are nevertheless methods that can help them reach their full potential, among them a displaying method proposed by Karin Tybjerg considered in this thesis and the object biography of which this thesis consists. This is a two-year master’s thesis in Museum and Cultural Heritage Studies