By: Katie Kania

Katie Kania — Tue, 28 Mar 2023 22:07:51 +0000

Hi Kerry, I enjoyed reading your review of The Courtiers’ Anatomists. At the beginning of the book, I was skeptical about how much I would enjoy it since I’m not a fan of reading about dissection and vivisection (more akin to torture), but I was surprised at how interesting it ended up being. In particular, one aspect of the book that was most fascinating to me was the relationship between the Academy and the King. This goes along with the recurring theme of patronage in our class discussions, but the dynamic between academics/scientists and the monarchy in France is unique to what we have discussed before. I appreciated your point about the abundance of evidence the author gives while simultaneously jumping between multiple historical figures, and I completely agree with you. At times, the amount of information she presents is a bit overwhelming. Overall, though, I enjoyed reading this book and its emphasis on the natural history side of early modern science. In class, I would be interested in a discussion about the ethics of dissection and vivisection – especially because these anatomists sometimes got their specimens in unsavory ways, like graverobbing. The aspect of consent and the ethics behind these kinds of experiments reminded me of The Poison Trials, and I’m interested in seeing what everyone else thinks. Nice book review!

By: Dominick Mellusi

Dominick Mellusi — Tue, 28 Mar 2023 19:14:41 +0000

Thank you for this review, Kerry. You start off your review of The Courtiers’ Anatomists: Animals and Humans in Louis XIV’s Paris by Anita Guerrini by going over the author’s credentials as to why she is qualified to write this monograph. I think you do a convincing job of highlighting the important aspects of her background. I appreciate your immediate jumping into the content of the book in your second paragraph going over the main themes of the book. I also like how you took the time to dedicate at least one paragraph for each chapter of the book. Your summaries of the arguments in each chapter are clear and concise, making it easy for those who are both familiar and unfamiliar with the book’s contents to follow and understand. You successfully cover the different concepts of the book related to the overarching discussions brought forth this semester. This should lead to a good jumping off point for class tomorrow. We can discuss the philosophical underpinnings of human and animal souls, the patronage of Louis XIV, and the development of experimental methods. You touch upon the sources used in the book in an effective way. We can further discuss the use of correspondence and published folios to see if we believe these adequate forms of source materials to create the arguments that the author is making here. Your critiques of the book seem to be quite fair. I like the line you have where you say, “While Guerrini’s knowledge is to be praised, her writing style could stand to learn from Duverney.” I did not notice that the author did so much hopping around from figure to figure, but now that you point it out I see what you mean. It did seem a bit jumbled at times, but I could not quite put my finger on it in the process of reading. Thanks again for your review. It has given me much to think about and I look forward to the discussion tomorrow.

Comments on: Anita Guerrini’s The Courtiers’ Anatomists: Animals and Humans in Louis XIV’s Paris

By: Katie Kania

By: Dominick Mellusi