Researcher

Nele Wynants

Research Expertise:As an art and cultural historian, I focus on the interactions between theatre, science and media, and their overlapping histories in the period 1800-1914. How was science vulgarised in popular culture, such as the theatre and the fairground, during the long nineteenth century? As editor-in-chief of FORUM+, I am also involved in research in the arts at various Flemish and Dutch Schools of Arts. This allows me to link my historical research into the relationship between art and science to contemporary questions and challenges. Currently, I conduct or supervise research on (1) the popularisation of science and visual media in theatre and popular culture; (2) the transnational circulation of knowledge, technology and visual culture through itinerant entertainment; (3) colonial stereotyping in missionary propaganda and popular performance culture; (4) the role of women in popular science and entertainment.

Keywords:THEATRE, FAIRGROUND, ART AND SCIENCE, HISTORY OF SCIENCE, ART HISTORY, VISUAL MEDIA RESEARCH, Fine arts (incl. archaeology)

Disciplines:Art studies and sciences, Audiovisual art and digital media, Heritage, Theatre and performance, Visual arts, Other arts, Other humanities and the arts

Research techniques:Historical research methods, including archival research, discourse analysis, performance analysis and visual analysis

Users of research expertise:Heritage services, archives and libraries; artistic and cultural organisations; journalists, students, researchers, teachers