ABSTRACT
Throughout the century it seemed important to maintain certain boundaries between pure and applied knowledge, between the sciences and society, between experts and the laity. But at the same time the permeability of these boundaries was also stressed: pure sciences were to be applied to human purposes, hinge on the conditions of social order, and thus help integrate lay and expert understanding. Defining and crossing such boundaries was a public affair, never the monopoly of cloistered specialists. Though the secluded laboratory became a dominant institution of scientific work, museums, gardens, zoos or field stations all remained vital sites for the sciences as they had been in previous epochs. While the label 'science' was rarely allowed for systems of ethics or morals, the social and human sciences were widely cultivated, the new expertize in fields such as 'sports science' or 'food science' was established. The task of situating scientists and the sciences
was carried on in lectures, exhibitions and other media of exposition. They helped define the sciences' scope and meaning, their relation with everyday life, the claims of capital and the range of human purposes. Even apparently rarified issues such as the distinction between science and technology or the link between science and practical reason were closely bound up with this world of public display. Several different images of the sciences were developed during the century, and these differences can be understood through the function of these images and the places where they were made. Equally important, these were places where the principles scientists described were put to work and their efficacy demonstrated.
