BSHS Annual Conference 2011 – Exeter
I attended the BSHS Annual Conference 2011 at the University of Exeter from 13th to 17th July. The prevalent focus of the sessions I attended seemed to be on science in the 18th to early 20th century science. There seemed to be less emphasis on the technological aspects which was somewhat redeemed by one of the last sessions at the conference. This last session on 17th July about telegraphy had some interesting insights about the working of telegraph companies in 19th & 20th century. Particularly fascinating was the look at Eastern Telegraph Company and its approach to research & development.
The conference as a whole covered a range of subjects. These included theoretical ideas ranging from Narrativism, Presentism and Rankeanism to Robert Boyle’s seminal principles and the conception of masks in Newton’s articulation of planetary orbits. Different takes on the history of science included history of naval architecture, the role of controversy in popularising science in 19th century, 19th century science in the press (including the Punch magazine) and the public history of science being documented at the Science Museum. There was also a very absorbing session on oral history which looked at the history of TB patients at Craig-y-nos castle in Wales during 1940s, oral history of British science and agricultural history in Zambia.
The plenary sessions started off with Martin Rudwick (University of Cambridge) speaking about the great Devonian controversy. An interesting aspect of this presentation was the use of diagrams to depict history while at the same time retaining the different viewpoints of the narrative. Mark Jackson (University of Exeter) took the audience into the twilight zone of the history of science & medicine. This session presented a detailed look at the disciplinary status of medical history & methodological challenges in the history of science and medicine. Advocating the need for a more convergent & interdisciplinary approach, Mark Jackson presented a field theory of medical history in conclusion.
The highlight of the conference was the presidential address (or the presidential dress as she put it) by Sally Horrocks (University of Leicester), the current BSHS president. She presented an engaging look at the presentation of science & technology in “cine magazines” and television in the late 1950s and early 1960s. In a narrative filled with film clips and images from Pathé Colour Pictorials and Associated TV, she traversed the often jaunty, positivistic outlook on science and the “heroic” pursuit of the backroom boffins to solve the problems as shown in the news reels during this period.
With a combination of post-grad students and experienced researchers attending & presenting, the conference had an excellent mix of enthusiasm and academic wisdom (including looking at one’s feet for an entire minute at the start of a presentation). On the whole, the conference was a great learning experience offering exposure to a variety of topics in the field of science & technology studies.