This dissertation examines the use of the quantitative sciences – particularly statistics andcartography – to bring order to the chaotic landscape of nationalities in central Europe across the long nineteenth century. It shows how numbers and maps were used to transform theabstract and frustratingly plastic concept of nationality into a seemingly tangible entity,whose exact spatial dimensions could objectively be measured, classified and ultimatelymanaged. The production of this scientific knowledge, I argue, thus made possible thepractical application of nationalist ideology to everyday life. Armed with scientifically‘accurate’ ethnographic tables and maps states could redraw political and administrative boundaries to match perceived lines of ethnic difference, while nationalist organizations could develop actionable strategies to intervene in nationality conflicts across the globe. In this way, my work contributes to longstanding debates about the origins of radical nationalism at the end of the nineteenth century. It highlights the linkage between scientific practice, visuality and the nationalization of politics, paying particular attention to the role played by technologies of representation and knowledge networks in convincing Europeansthat they had found a reliable way to objectify nationality.
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Where Lies Germany: Science and the Visualization of the German Nation, 1848-1914
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