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In the last paper in this section, James Ryan addresses the impact of photography in the Victorian era—a revolutionary era in visualization. Victorian science saw the photograph as a new form of evidence. A photograph, unlike a painting, was regarded as "true." Furthermore, photography appeared to dissolve the perceived distance between "there" and "here." Ryan's case study shows, however, that this new technology, far from being neutral, served as a tool and extension of the culture, particularly in furthering the exploration and conquest of territory—the extension of scientific empiricism in the justification of Western imperialism.
These three papers will nudge readers to be more self-reflective about the place from which they see the world, something always needed by those who sit in the seats of powerful nations. Brotton's case study pushes us to become more self-conscious of the place in which we stand when we see and portray other people and places in the world. My colleague Barbara Omolade speaks of "the Ephesians moment" in Scripture, where it is evident that we need all Christian perspectives from around the world to grasp the full richness of the gospel. Glennie and Thrift make us more self-conscious of those "communities of practice" that have become reified. Through their case study we can gain insight into our potential for mistaking what is relative for what is universal and unchanging. Ryan makes us more self-conscious that the technology we use is never neutral. Whenever we use technology, we stand in a particular place and have a particular purpose which frames its use. These three chapters are humbling in making us aware that we have only partial knowledge—that in this present age we see "through a glass darkly," as the Apostle Paul wrote.
Part 3, "Geography and Political Revolution," reinforces the overarching attempt of the book to delve deeper into the complexity of the perspectival nature of knowledge. Robert Mayhew's chapter on geography at Oxford in the 1600s, Michael Heffernan's work on geography in the period of the French Revolution, and David Livingstone's analysis of geographical writings in the era of the American Revolution all illustrate that geographic understanding is always embedded within the context of place and time. Early geographical writings and methods at Oxford reflected theological debates going on in Europe between Calvinist and Arminian perspectives as well as contested political alliances. French geographer Edme Mentelle's writings appeared sterile and descriptive, with no explanation or theoretical perspective, in an effort to avoid politically controversial theoretical issues within the unpredictable setting of the French Revolution. American geographical writings at the time of the Revolution, in some respects quite diverse, share a common theme: the unique nature of North America as a place for the development of a superior culture and morality. Here geography was appropriated to forge a national identity, distinct from that of Europe and indeed superior in its landscape. Thomas Jefferson's Notes on the State of Virginia was an apologetic for American nature and human nature on the North American continent. Jedidiah Morse's American Geography gave prominence to New England culture as the model for American character. Timothy Dwight valorized American landscapes in which the qualities of the New Earth could be seen. Unsurprisingly, this grandson of Jonathan Edwards believed with Jedidiah Morse that the landscape and culture of New England best expressed the American identity. This last section of the volume illustrates the theme of geography in revolution, the use of geographic information for the purposes of a particular revolution. Certainly we could easily find contemporary examples to illustrate the same point, and these chapters offer models with which to assess the agendas framing geographic information in the present.
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