This essay traces the history of normality’s development through a photographic research program that itself began with a critique of that very concept. In the 1920s, a group of child development researchers around the psychologist and physician Arnold Gesell constructed the photographic dome—at once laboratory, observatory, and film studio—to assess normal mental development. Although seeking to challenge standardized measurements of the normal, the researchers created a set of developmental norms that shaped a universal understanding of what constituted a normal child. This essay examines the foundation of this pervasive knowledge by tracking the material factors of visual technology and media production: organizing scientific research like film production, Gesell and his team began to think of development in photographic sequences. Film technology configured their ideas about the individuality of every child, gave rise to a democratic variety of norms, and linked the scientific laboratory with private households and public life. The essay thus argues that visual technologies, beyond merely providing a scientific method and a means of popular distribution, constituted far-reaching theories regarding the normal child. This media-material perspective demonstrates that focusing on visual technologies in science can help to denaturalize knowledge about human nature.

中文翻译：

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正常发展：摄影圆顶和耶鲁心理诊所的孩子们

这篇文章通过一个摄影研究计划追溯了常态发展的历史，该计划本身就始于对该概念的批判。在 1920 年代，心理学家和医生阿诺德·格塞尔 (Arnold Gesell) 周围的一组儿童发展研究人员建造了摄影圆顶——既是实验室、天文台又是电影制片厂——以评估正常的心理发育。尽管试图挑战正常的标准化测量，研究人员创建了一套发育规范，形成了对正常儿童构成的普遍理解。本文通过追踪视觉技术和媒体生产的物质因素来检验这种普遍知识的基础：组织像电影制作这样的科学研究，格塞尔和他的团队开始考虑摄影序列的发展。电影技术塑造了他们对每个孩子个性的看法，产生了民主的各种规范，并将科学实验室与私人家庭和公共生活联系起来。因此，这篇文章认为，视觉技术不仅提供了一种科学方法和一种大众传播手段，还构成了关于正常儿童的深远理论。这种媒体材料的观点表明，在科学中关注视觉技术有助于使有关人性的知识去自然化。构成了关于正常儿童的影响深远的理论。这种媒体材料的观点表明，在科学中关注视觉技术有助于使有关人性的知识去自然化。构成了关于正常儿童的影响深远的理论。这种媒体材料的观点表明，在科学中关注视觉技术有助于使有关人性的知识去自然化。