PhD: EGELMEERS Wouter (KU Leuven) | Supervisor: WILS KAAT (KU Leuven) | Co-supervisor: KESSLER Frank (UU)
This project studies the use of the magic lantern in Belgian schools, a subject about which little to nothing was known up to now, even though the projection of images in classrooms has remained an important element of teaching up to today. In order to gain insight into discussions surrounding the use of the lantern in education as well as its actual implementation in primary, secondary, and normal schools, an extensive analysis of Belgian educational journals, government publications, conference proceedings, handbooks and school archives has been conducted. This analysis shows that the introduction of the magic lantern to Belgian education was a long-winded process that started in the 1880s and led to a more widespread use of the new medium by the 1920s.
In order to find out what slide series were available to teachers, the project further focuses on the educational lending services that distributed slide series. In order to answer the question how lantern images were used in class, case studies on the teaching of history and geography shall be conducted. Numerous materials from various archives thus provide new insights into the day-to-day practices involving the magic lantern and the ways in which it changed Belgian education.
