The USC Libraries’ inaugural Carrollian Fellow, UK-based science historian Dr. Franziska Kohlt, spent the past academic year exploring the vast imaginative world of Lewis Carroll—the Victorian-era mathematician, logician, photographer, and writer of “Alice in Wonderland” and its sequel, “Through the Looking-glass and What Alice Found There.”
Her kaleidoscopic foray into USC’s Cassady Carroll collection resulted in an array of discoveries, publications, academic collaboration, and student engagement—and forthcoming opportunities for the public to experience some of the collections treasures for themselves.
Students of the USC Sidney Harman Academy for Polymathic Study were offered the unique opportunity to explore rarely seen items in our Cassady collection, which show why Carroll remains an object of fascination for so many people. In addition to his well-known areas of interest in children’s fiction, mathematics, photography, and games, he developed new forms of cryptography, supported women’s education, advanced Victorian natural history, and inspired environmentalist literature thanks to his animal right’s activism. Kohlt’s seminars with the Academy students encouraged a number of them to create original artworks and writing for our annual Wonderland Awards competition, for which she served as a judge.
For an “In Our Time” podcast produced by the BBC in February, Kohlt discussed the enduring popularity of Carroll’s two Alice books. “If we look at contemporary children’s literature,” she said, “We still see so many references to Alice in Wonderland, and it’s not just in literature, film, and video games; one of the fantastic and fascinating afterlives Alice has acquired is in the world of science . . . there are all sorts of references to Alice and Cheshire Cats in Quantum Land. Alice doesn’t just have an afterlife in literature, but all over the place.”
USC Libraries Director of Special Projects Dr. Rebecca Corbett, who worked with Kohlt to identify relevant library collections and develop some upcoming programs during the fellowship, emphasized her multifaceted impact on students and the entire USC community: “Dr. Kohlt’s appointment as USC Libraries’ Carrollian Fellow saw her activate our Cassady Lewis Carroll Collection in many exciting ways: through her research, through workshops for students, and through generating ideas for future public events. To see a collection like this come alive in her hands, with the deep knowledge she brings, coupled with her tremendous enthusiasm, has been a joy!”
"The Cassady Lewis Carroll Collection is truly remarkable," said Dr. Melissa Just, dean of the USC Libraries. "There is nothing quite like it at any other university library, and one of the Cassady collection's most invigorating qualities is how scholars like Dr. Kohlt and the USC students who enter our annual Wonderland Awards competition continually help us discover new things about it."
The results from Kohlt's term as the inaugural Carrollian Fellow will continue into the 2024–2025 academic year. On October 28 the USC Libraries celebrate the recent publication of Alice Through the Looking-Glass: A Companion, which Kohlt was able to finish editing thanks to her research here. This deeply researched volume of essays is the first to offer a truly multidisciplinary exploration of Carroll’s second-most famous work. Experts in the history of science, logic, philosophy, theology, literature, business, data science, and visual culture analyze its influences and legacy. In addition, she completed Alice Through the Wonderglass: The Unexpected Histories of a Children’s Classic, due to appear in 2025 from Reaktion Press.
Finally, in October, she will return to the USC campus for “Spectral Science”—a series of Visions and Voices-sponsored events exploring the intersection of magic, technology, and mysticism. Anchored by a year-long exhibition she co-curated for Doheny Library’s Treasure Room, these activities will explore the porous boundaries between seeing and believing, which grew out of research, conversations, and collaborations made possible by this fellowship.