For those of you interested in artifactuality, material agency and material
culture and happen to be in/near Copenhagen.
 
Best
Mats Fridlund
 
 
------------------------------------------------------------------

Towards a ‘New Materialism’?
Exploring Artifactuality and Material Culture in History of Science,
Technology and Medicine

A monthly Øresund reading symposium arranged by
History of Technology Division, Technical University of Denmark (DTU)/The
Danish National Museum of Science and Technology, Medical Museion,
University of Copenhagen, & Research Policy Institute, Lund University
 

The last decade have seen the appearance of a number of books pointing
toward a growing interest in the role of material culture, material agency
and ‘artifactuality’ inside as well as outside history of science,
technology and medicine. One example is art historian W. J. T. Mitchell,
main protagonists of the visual turn that supposedly supplanted the
linguistic turn in the 1990s, in describing the anthology "Things That Talk"
(2004) as an example of “advanced research in what might be called the 'new
materialism.' Unlike the old materialism, which dreamed of a positive
science, purified of linguistic accident, ideological prejudice, or fantasy,
the new takes aim directly at the figuration and imaging of objects,
factoids, and things.” 
 
To explore this potential ‘artifactual turn’ within recent history of
science, technology and medicine the History of Technology Division,
Technical University of Denmark in partnership with The Danish National
Museum of Science and Technology; the Medical Museion, University of
Copenhagen; and the Research Policy Institute, Lund University, invites
researchers, curators and graduate students in the Øresund region and beyond
to participate in a new reading symposium devoted to this ‘new materialism’.
It will meet once a month from October until June at a museum or research
institution alternatively in Copenhagen and Lund/Malmö to discuss a book
according to the list below. The symposia will take place 1-3pm for 2 hours
of combined discussion and lunch followed by an optional tour of the hosting
institution. The discussions will be in English or Scandinavian depending on
the participants. We hope to be able to pay for all books and lunches for
the participants.
 

Schedule
 
Thursday October 5, DTU, Lyngby
Lorraine Daston, ed., Things That Talk: Object Lessons from Art and Science
(2004)
 
Thursday November 6, University of Lund, Lund
Andrew Pickering, The Mangle of Practice: Time, Agency and Science (1995)
 
Thursday December 7, Medical Museion, Copenhagen
Sharon Macdonald, ed., Politics of Display: Museums, Science, Culture (1997) 
 
Thursday January 25, Museum in Copenhagen To Be Decided (TBD)
Bill Brown, ed. Things (2004)
 
Thursday February 22, Museum in Lund/Malmö TBD
Soraya de Chadarevian & Nick Hopwood, ed., Models: The Third Dimension of
Science (2004)
 
Thursday March 22, Museum in Copenhagen TBD
Larsson, ed., Cultures of Creativity: Birth of a 21st Century Museum (2006)
 
Thursday April 19, Museum in Lund/Malmö TBD
Peter Galison, Image and Logic: A Material Culture of Microphysics (1997)
 
Thursday May 24, Museum in Copenhagen TBD
Tim Dant, Materiality and Society (2005)
 
Thursday June 21, Museum in Lund/Malmö TBD
Bruno Latour & Peter Weibel, ed., Making Things Public: Atmospheres of
Democracy (2005)
 

We expect to be able to accommodate all interested but if we will have to
limit the number of participants we reserve the right to decide who can
participate with priority to graduate students. It is not necessary to
attend every meeting to participate but priority will be given to those
expressing their intention in following the whole symposium. Those
interested in participating should send an email expressing their interest
by Thursday September 21 to symposium organizer Mats Fridlund, Associate
Professor of History of Technology at DTU at [log in to unmask] For the first
seminar on October 5 the readings will be sent out electronically and for
the following meetings books will be sent out in advance.
 
It is possible for graduate students to follow the reading group for credit
as a 5 credit PhD-course given by teachers from DTU and Lund University.
Students taking the course will be required to write comments on the
readings, attend four additional seminars, give an introduction to one
seminar and write a research paper. The conclusion of the PhD course would
be a public symposium after the summer where the students present their
final papers.
 

Welcome!

 
=======================================
Dr Mats Fridlund
Associate Professor
 
Technical University of Denmark (DTU)
History of Technology Division
Technical Knowledge Center of Denmark
Room 101-016, Anker Engelunds vej 1, PO Box 777
DK-2800 Kongens Lyngby, Denmark
 
Ph: +45 4525 7289  Mob: +45 4148 9018
eFax: +1 570 227 3095  <[log in to unmask]>
http://www.dtv.dk/English/tekhist.aspx
=======================================