By the part one shall know the whole. The members of this panel examine the fragmentation of bodies, lands, and objects, and their redemption by a unifying knowledge that is acquired through the reconfiguration of those parts in space and in text. Joost Van Eynde will discuss the collection of body parts by military surgeons in the periphery of the British Empire and their use in museum collections and scientific inquiry for the generation of new medical knowledge in the metropolis. Sheng Long will demonstrate that the division of family households and the redemption of mortgaged ancestral land in southern China during late imperial times constituted knowledge of the lineage through plots of land. Omer Sharir will analyze a British experiment in 1835 to produce knowledge of the Syrian desert and its peoples by the overland transport of two disassembled paddle steamers to the Euphrates.

Panelists:
Curie Virág (Assistant Professor, East Asian Studies, University of Toronto), Sheng Long (PhD Student, Anthropology, University of Michigan), Omer Sharir (PhD Student, History, University of Michigan), and Joost Van Eynde (PhD Candidate, History, University of Michigan); chaired by Christian de Pee (Associate Professor, History, University of Michigan).

Free and open to the public. Lunch provided.

This event is part of the Friday Series of the Eisenberg Institute for Historical Studies. It is made possible by a generous contribution from Kenneth and Frances Aftel Eisenberg.