Reisen und Vergleichen

In their travelogues, both Humboldt and Krusenstern employ global comparisons as powerful and versatile epistemological devices. While these comparisons usually fall back upon Eurocentric ideas of art, politics, society, and beauty – thereby frequently establishing European superiority over the chosen objects of comparison – they also transform formerly unrelated pieces of information into coherent knowledge concerning the world as a whole. This contribution inquires how these practices of comparison generate explanations of both natural and cultural matters.