Historians of science Lorraine Daston (Max-Planck-Institut für Wissenschaftsgeschichte, Berlin/University of Chicago) and Theodore Porter (University of California at Los Angeles/Wissenschaftskolleg zu Berlin) will be exploring the impact of science on the literary imagination with readings from Mark Twain, George Elliott, Thomas Carlyle, Charles Darwin, Michael Frayn, Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley and other writers captivated by the world-changing potential of science and technology.