A team of researchers associated with the History of Science and Technology Hub recently launched a new online exhibition at the Royal Geographical Society.

The Natural Hazards and EmpireLink opens in a new window exhibition explores how natural hazards were studied and experienced under the conditions of empire, drawing on examples from the Royal Geographical Society's Collections. For many people, colonialism itself was a disaster. When combined with the shock of an earthquake, an avalanche, or volcanic eruption, the effects could be especially damaging and long-lasting. The exhibition was put together following an undergraduate workshop held at the Royal Geographical Society in collaboration with the University of Leeds and the University of Warwick. This was an exercise in participatory research.

What do undergraduates, studying geography at university today, make of the historical Collections held at the Royal Geographical Society? And what does ‘decolonisation’ mean for them as the geographers of the future? View the online exhibition hereLink opens in a new window.

We are delighted to announce that the British Society for the History of Science 2024 Postgraduate Conference will be held at the University of Warwick. The conference, organised by Warwick PhD students, will be hosted by the Department of History and the Global History and Culture Centre.

You can find out more on the conference website: https://pg-conference.bshs.org.uk/

The call for papers is now open with a deadline to submit your abstract by 15 January 2024.

The latest issue of Journal of Early Modern Studies is a collection of articles on the place of the eighteenth century in the history of science. The issue is edited by Adrian Wilson (University of Leeds) with an introductory essay by Michael Bycroft (University of Warwick).

See here for details, including abstracts of individual articles.

Dr James Poskett, Associate Professor in the History of Science and Technology at the University of Warwick, has been awarded a British Academy / Wolfson Fellowship.

The British Academy / Wolfson Fellowships support early career researchers in the arts, social sciences, and humanities “who show outstanding talent in both research and public engagement and will communicate their research to a global audience.”

As part of the fellowship, Dr Poskett will be working on a project titled, “The Scientific Revolution as Global History, 1200–1800”. Stretching from Ming China to Mexica America, this project will reframe the history of early modern science as part of a global history.

This project builds on Dr Poskett’s recent book, Horizons: A Global History of Science (Penguin, 2022), which was shortlisted for the 2022 British Academy Book Prize in Global Cultural Understanding.

Michael Bycroft published an essay on the thorny question of the concept of biological race, in the French magazine Books. Here is a translated abstract:

"We are told that race is a social construct. But the biological dimension of race is nevertheless hard to deny. A historian of science delves into the maze of claims and counter-claims on this topic. He reaches a surprising conclusion: what if the real problem is not the idea of biological race but the belief that biology can solve our social and intellectual problems?"

The essay is available online, though behind a paywall.

On 8 September 2022, Professor Roberta Bivins (Warwick) gave a lecture on "The interdisciplinary edge: DNA profiling and the risks of certainty" at the Danish Institute of Advanced Study, which was livestreamed on the DAIS YouTube channel.

This followed a seminar on 7 September at Syddansk Universitet on "The Family, Medical Science, and the Political History of Health".

Like many of us, I’ve been preparing my teaching for the coming academic year. I’m planning on giving a lecture on early modern science as part of our Galleons and Caravans: Global Connections, 1500–1800 module. I was thinking about how to present these debates on Newton, particularly to a group of students who may have no previous experience in the history of science, but are certainly interested in global history.

Recalling a brief former stint as a computer scienceLink opens in a new window student, I spent a few days putting together an interactive map that is now available online. I hope it will be a useful resource, not just for my students, but for anyone teaching the history of science, or indeed global history.

You can check it out here: https://isaacnewton.world/Link opens in a new window

On 9 and 10 June 2022, the Global History and Culture Centre held its annual conference.

The theme this year was The History of Science and the 'Big Picture'

Professor Clapperton Chakanetsa Mavhunga (MIT) delivered the keynote lecture on “Diversity as Method”.