Expeditions as Experiments: An Introduction

Abstract

This introduction focuses on different forms of expeditions and their role in the process of knowledge acquisition from the eighteenth century onwards, it investigates the various forms of scientific practices conducted during, after and before expeditions, and it places this discussion into the scientific context of experiments. Taking as our starting point the heuristic tool of expeditions as experiments, we propose that the expedition is also a variation on the laboratory in which different practices can be conducted, where the transformation of uncertain into certain knowledge can be tested. The experimental positioning of the expedition brings together an ensemble of techniques, strategies, material agents and social actors, and illuminates the steps leading from observation to facts and documentation.