Eclipse and Revelation: Total Solar Eclipses in Science, History, Literature, and the Arts

This seven-year project explores the phenomenon, representation, and interpretation of total solar eclipses and seeks to heal the historical divide between the natural sciences and the humanities. The result is an interdisciplinary investigation into eclipses, offering a liberated mode of discovery and knowledge-production across traditional academic divisions. The book is dedicated to Tom McLeish and Jay M. Pasachoff and is a friendly companion to the chase of knowledge.

Format: Hardback
Length: 384 pages
Publication date: 09 February 2024
Publisher: Oxford University Press

Two central questions drive this seven-year project: How can we approach the phenomenon, representation, and interpretation of total solar eclipses? How can we heal the historical divide separating the natural sciences from the humanities, arts, history, and theology?

The outcome of this interdisciplinary exploration into eclipses presents an intriguing glimpse behind the scenes, encompassing labs, archives, museums, and fieldwork in astronomy, meteorology, animal behavior, and ecophysiology. Carefully crafted for readers from diverse backgrounds, these voices invite us to envision a liberated mode of discovery, perception, creativity, and knowledge-production transcending traditional academic boundaries.

A distinctive portrayal of total solar eclipses emerges, evolving into a model of collaborative thinking, uniting individuals across disciplinary lines.

This book, authored by Tom McLeish as his final project and scholarly testament, is dedicated to him and astrophysicist Jay M. Pasachoff (contributing author of a chapter on the solar corona, also Pasachoff's final piece of writing). It serves as a friendly companion to the pursuit of knowledge, encouraging readers to embark on their own interdisciplinary journey of discovery.

Dimension: 234 x 156 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780192857996