Magnetic hermaphrodites: the snail telegraph and the cultural meanings of gastropods in 19th century esotericism

Kuvaus

The paper focuses on a research project carried out in the mid-19th century that strived to create a “pasilalinic-sympathetic compass”, a telegraph based on magnetic interaction between living snails. The aim was to prove that animal magnetism was a serious scientific theory and to present it as a competitor to inventions based on electricity. Choosing snails as the species humans could communicate through was no accident. Originally, theories on magnetism were closely related to sexuality and as hermaphrodites, snails were considered a particularly promising species from the point of view of their magnetic qualities. Through the example of the snail telegraph, the paper traces the relation of magnetism to the history of sexuality and discusses the cultural roles and meanings snails were given in the esoteric thinking of the era.

Aikajakso	19 kesäk. 2025
Tapahtuman otsikko	ISCH annual conference - Human/Nature – Entanglements in Cultural History
Tapahtuman tyyppi	Konferenssi
Sijainti	Rovaniemi, SuomiNäytä kartalla
Tunnustuksen arvo	Kansainvälinen