| Popis: |
[Abstract] This study reexamines the historical significance of research on sound recording technology conducted by the French poet and scientist Charles Cros (1842–1888). Setting the tone for the discussion, I critically examine the mainstream stance toward the history of technology. Moreover, I reflect on the contents of one of my books, Charles Cros, Poet and Scientist: Poems, Sound Recording, and Color Photography, published in 2014, using this as a foundation for further discussion. Furthermore, in order to position his research on sound recording technology within the intellectual and cultural context of the era in which it was created, I make reference to related texts from the same period throughout the discussion. In particular, I examine Charles Cros’ own theory of perception, the physiological writings of his older brother Antoine, and The Future Eve, a novel written by Villiers de l’Isle-Adam. Through this discussion, I suggest that the sound recording technology Charles Cros designed was not a device for recording and playing music but was linked to major research on mechanistic methods of examining the human body. |
