The Panorama and 19th-Century Visual Culture

Throughout the 19th-century, the Panorama was a wildly popular ‘vision machine,' the model for many later attractions from theme park rides to immersive educational spectacles like IMAX movies. In this course, we will use 21st-century vision technology to study the role of these cultural artifacts, optical media and storytelling devices in the shaping of 19th-century "virtual reality." We will focus on three case studies: the Garibaldi panorama at the Brown library ; the panorama of the Pilgrim's Progress at the Saco, Maine museum; and the Whaling Voyage 'round the world, at the New Bedford Whaling Museum. Taught in English.