POPULAR SCIENCE: NINETEENTH-CENTURY SITES AND EXPERIENCES (York
University, Toronto, August 2-3, 2004):
Taking place just prior to the 3 Society conference in Halifax, this
conference sets out to ask how something now conceived of as ‘popular
science’ developed in the nineteenth century.
We start from the assumption that what people meant by the term ‘popular
science’ changed over the century, and that, even at any one time, it
carried different connotations to different social groups and to people
experiencing it in different contexts. The emphasis will be placed on
sites and experiences in an effort to extend our understanding of the
history of popular science beyond the popularisers themselves. We will
not ignore the writers, publishers and curators who created popular
science products, but we want to examine larger questions about the ways
in which popular science emerged and was transformed over the century.
Speakers will consider the different media and physical locations which
could be involved, from printed items through conversations to museums
and aquaria. They will also try to develop methods for investigating the
ever-elusive problem of audience experiences. The conference aims to
broaden our understanding of popular science in a time when it became
far more widespread as a form of entertaining instruction.
Speakers will include: Vicky Carroll, Ann Shteir, Jon Topham, John van
Wyhe, Aileen Fyfe, Iwan Morus, Anne Secord, Jim Secord, Sofia Akerberg,
Sam Alberti, Graeme Gooday, and Bernard Lightman. Jonathan Rose and
Sophie Forgan will offer commentaries.
Conference organizers: Bernard Lightman and Aileen Fyfe. For further
information, contact Jessica Poole at ([log in to unmask]). The
conference website is at: http://www.yorku.ca/popsci/.
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Dr Aileen Fyfe
Dept of History
National University of Ireland
Galway
Republic of Ireland
Tel +353 91 524411 x3791
Fax +353 750556
http://www.nuigalway.ie/history/fyfe/
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