Dane Kennedy is Elmer Louis Kayser Professor of History and International Affairs at George Washington University.

  You have asked to view the Society's manuscript Archives - what are you researching?
I am writing a book on British land exploration in the 19th century, with a particular focus on Africa and Australia, which will discuss the move to a more scientific approach to land-exploration, following on from protocols established during sea expeditions.

  How do you think the Society's manuscripts will help?
I am particularly interested in any directives issued to expeditions by Society committees and in explorers'  adoption of indigenous knowledge encountered during expeditions.

  What have you found in the manuscripts?
I was particularly interested to find that unpublished diaries held in the Archives tend to hold far more on the interactions between indigenous peoples and expedition members than their published versions.

But it is hard to specify particular items amongst such a wealth of interesting and surprising information. There was plenty of material on African exploration, but I also found far more relating to Australian exploration that I had anticipated. 

  Prof. Kennedy has kindly donated a copy of his work The Highly Civilised Man: Richard Burton & the Victorian World to the Society’s Library collection.