Founded in 2007 in Philadelphia, one of the primary activities of the Consortium for History of Science, Technology and Medicine is to organize working groups to bring together scholars for monthly meetings in specialized fields related to the history of science, technology and medicine to share their works in progress. All interested scholars are welcome, either in person at the Consortium’s offices in Philadelphia, or online via web conferencing software. The Consortium is currently soliciting paper proposals for the 2020-2021 academic year, including for its new group focused on the history of ocean science, technology, and medicine.
Historians of science have recently begun to examine role of the oceans themselves in human activity, not just as a pathway between places that matter, but as a place with a history of its own, with which humans have always interacted. In turning their gaze to the other two thirds of the earth’s surface, scholars thus acknowledge the oceans as a changeable and changing place, affecting and affected by human activities. This “oceanic turn” is playing out in the humanities broadly, as scholars in many disciplines explore the role of the oceans in human endeavors including labor, culture, politics, industry, law, or literature. Spanning many different periods and regions around the world, this group will examine broad conceptions of oceans across history.
This working group is organized by Dr. Penelope K. Hardy, Dr. Daniella McCahey, and Dr. Katharina Steiner.
Scholars interested in sharing a draft article, dissertation chapter or book chapter for discussion should submit, as a single PDF, a proposal of no more than 1000 words including:
- a description of the paper
- what you hope to gain from discussion with the group
- relevant biographical information
Proposals may be submitted by May 1 at:
https://www.chstm.org/wgpaper
Scholars can learn more about this group and its organizers at the Consortium website. More information about the Consortium’s other working groups, and how to join them, can be found here.
