The
7th International Conference on History of
Chemistry
Consumers
and Experts: The Uses of Chemistry (and Alchemy)
2-5 August 2009
(First
Circular)
The 7th ICHC and the 23rd
ICHST
The Working Party (WP) on
History of Chemistry of the European Association for Chemical and Molecular
Sciences (EuCheMS) will hold its bi-annual International Conference on History
of Chemistry (7th ICHC) in Sopron, Hungary, from 2 − 5 August
2009.
From 28 July − 2
August 2009 the 23rd International Congress of History of Science and
Technology (23rd ICHST) will be held in
The 7th ICHC will focus on the theme of “the uses of chemistry
(and alchemy)”, which covers both the practical uses of chemistry and the
cultural consumption of chemistry. A major aim of the conferences organised by
the WP is to facilitate communication between historically interested chemists
and historians of chemistry from all over
Main Topic: “Consumers
and Experts: The Uses of Chemistry (and Alchemy)”
There is a growing trend in
the history of technology to examine the development and use of new technology
from the user’s (or consumer’s) point of view rather than that of the innovator
or producer which has hitherto been the predominant standpoint in that field.
This shift in perspective can be particularly valuable for the history of
chemistry since chemistry has always been seen as the supremely useful
science. Its great utility has been praised for many centuries, whether it be to
make gold for princes in the sixteenth century, improving crop yields in the
nineteenth century or producing nanomaterials for the aerospace industry in the
twenty-first century. It was supported because it was considered to underpin
industry, agriculture and medicine. The social impact of chemistry has been
considerable, helping to provide clean water and wholesome food, improved
housing, and to increase the food supply in the face of a rapidly growing
population. Less positively, chemistry has also been used in war, from
explosives (and the fixed nitrogen needed to produce them) and poison gases to
synthetic petrol and rubber. But the uses of chemistry go beyond the purely
practical. Lecturers have made money from chemistry by giving courses on the
subject both in universities and to the public at large. Chemistry has also been
a major theme in international exhibitions and museums. The expertise of
chemists has been used by lawyers to win patent disputes and murder trials, and
by governments to develop policy. The uses of chemistry is a topic which
branches out from the history of chemistry and alchemy to many other areas,
ranging from the history of the chemical industry and pharmacy to the history of
medicine, business and economic history, legal history, social history and
cultural studies, and museums and the study of material culture. This conference
aims at a better understanding of the different ways chemistry and alchemy have
been “consumed” in countless ways over the last six or seven hundred years. It
also seeks to explore how the consumers of chemicals and chemists were created
in their social and economic context. For instance, how did firms generate a
demand for their products? The range of potential topics is enormous but it is
important in the framework of this conference that these topics should be
discussed in terms of the viewpoint of the user or consumer.
Topics and
Subtopics
These topics and subtopics
overlap considerably and are only suggestions. Potential speakers should simply
use this schema to check if their proposed topic is suitable. The actual
organisation of the papers at the conference will depend on the number and types
of papers submitted and the interconnections between
them.
a)
Creation of wealth either
directly as in alchemy or through selling the products of
chemistry
b)
Chemistry in the media –
newspapers, radio, television
c)
Chemistry in trade
exhibitions (including international exhibitions and World Fairs) and
museums
d)
Polemical use of the value
of chemistry to promote chemistry, chemicals or scientific progress
e)
Medicine – making drugs or
by increasing understanding of biological processes
f)
Agriculture – increased
understanding of plant growth and nutrition, development of fertilisers and
pesticides
g)
Gas and coal industry – use
of chemistry to improve processes and use waste
products
h)
Food, drink and brewing –
improving craft-based practices, introducing new methods, food analysis and
prevention of adulteration
i)
Use of chemistry in
universities (e.g. to modernise medicine) and in university
education
j)
Public lectures and
entertainments
k)
Books and magazines – both
professional and popular
a)
Use of chemicals by the
public – chemistry sets, household uses (and the decline of such uses), perhaps
even misuse (e.g. inhalation, making terrorist
devices)
b)
Impact of chemicals on the
environment – using chemicals to make a point about environmental degradation
c)
Chemicals as historical
objects – collections of chemicals in museums, universities and industrial
archives
d)
Chemical industry – as
intermediates for other chemicals and for end-products (dyes, agrochemicals,
plastics, fibres etc)
e)
Fertiliser industry – using
chemicals to make fertilisers (e.g. making superphosphate) and chemicals as
fertilisers (e.g. ammonium nitrate and urea)
f)
Pharmaceutical industry – to
extract natural drugs and as intermediates for synthetic drugs (or directly as
drugs, e.g. chloroform)
g)
Cosmetic, soap and detergent
industries
h)
Food and drink industries –
use of adulterants, introduction of useful chemicals into foods and synthetic
food products (e.g. sweeteners)
i)
Other industries (e.g.
metals, matches, ceramics, glass, sugar)
j)
Government and military –
explosives, war gases, strategic materials (light metals, synthetic petrol,
synthetic rubber)
3. Using
Chemists
a)
Law – expert witnesses,
patent agents, patent lawyers, judges
b)
Media – use of chemists by
the media, chemists working in the media
c)
Government – state patronage
of alchemy, state laboratories, tax authorities, defence laboratories, police
and interior ministries, civil service, policy advisors,
politicians
d)
Military – active service
(e.g.
e)
Museums and art galleries –
curators, conservators, directors, advisors
f)
International and
non-governmental organisations, charities
g)
By historians – uses of
prosopography and the value of biographies
h)
Academia – teaching
(including other subjects such as medicine or metallurgy as well as chemistry),
research, libraries, administration
i)
Schools – teaching,
administration
j)
Chemical industry – research
and development, analysis, quality control, process supervision, patent
advisors, sales and marketing, as leaders of the firm, consultants
k)
Other industries – analysis,
consultants, non-chemical positions
l)
Environmental protection –
solving environmental problems, pollution analysis
The Programme Committee
welcomes proposals for individual papers of twenty minutes duration or sessions
(chair and 3 or 4 papers) from historians and chemists, graduate students and
independent researchers. Both paper and poster sessions are planned. The
proposals submitted will be considered by the committee for both types of
sessions as appropriate.
Proposals for
individual papers must include a one-page summary (maximum 500 words) outlining
both the content and the argument of the proposed paper, and a one-page CV,
including current postal and e-mail addresses.
Proposals for
complete sessions must include a description of the session that explains how
individual papers contribute to an overall theme (maximum 400 words), the names
and paper titles of the presenters. Each presenter
belonging to the session also has to submit a one-page summary (maximum 500
words) outlining both the content and the argument of the proposed paper, and
for the chair and each presenter a one-page CV, with postal and e-mail
addresses.
All proposals
should be submitted via the online registration system of the Conference. After
submission the file of proposal in MS Word document format (or if necessary in
RTF format) can be uploaded to the system. All data will be stored in the web
database so applicants can control them whenever they want
it.
All proposals must be
single-spaced, left-aligned (including the title) and in Times New Roman, font
size 12 points. The margins of the A4 page should be
If there are any problems
with uploading your abstract, then please send it as an attached MS Word
document (or if necessary in RTF format) at [log in to unmask], sending a separate email
at the same time to inform the chair that the proposal has been emailed (in case
the proposal is caught in a firewall).
The deadline for all
submissions is 15 January 2009
Applicants will be informed
of the results of the selection process by 15 March
2009
For any queries relating to
the academic programme, please contact the programme committee chair, Peter
Morris, at [log in to unmask].
For any queries relating to
the local arrangements, please contact the local committee chair, Éva Vámos, at
[log in to unmask], or the
Hungarian Chemical Society (MKE), Ms. Andrea Kis-Menyhárt, e-mail:
[log in to unmask]; H-1027 Budapest
Fö u. 68
tel.: +36 1 201 6883; fax:
+36 1 201 8056
Committees
Programme Committee
Peter MORRIS,
Members:
Marco BERETTA,
José
Ramón BERTOMEU-SÁNCHEZ, Universitat de València, Spain
Hjalmar FORS, Kungliga Tekniska Hogskolan, Stockholm,
Sweden
Ursula KLEIN, Max Planck Institut für Wissenschaftsgeschichte, Berlin,
Germany.
Gabor PALLO,
Institute for Philosophical Research, Institute for Research Organization,
Ana SIMOES,
Sona ŠTRBÁNOVÁ,
Ústav pro soudobé dejiny, Akademie ved Ceské republiky,
Brigitte Van TIGGELEN,
Université catholique de
Éva VÁMOS,
Members:
Beata ANDROSITS, Hungarian Chemical Society
(co-chair)
Ilona
BUZÁS,
György LIPTAY, Hungarian Chemical
Society
Andrea KIS-MENYHÁRT, Hungarian Chemical
Society
István PRÓDER,
Lívia SARKADY,
Péter TÖMPE,
EGIS Ltd.
The Conference will be held in Hotel Sopron (H-9400 Sopron, Fövényverem
utca 7) (http://www.hotelsopron.hu/home). Hotel Sopron
uses the slogan "Window to the town" to emphasize the unsurpassed view over the
historical downtown. The hotel is situated only 3-4 minutes from the
city-center.
Date |
Time |
Location |
Wednesday,
2 |
15:00-19:00 19:00-21:00 |
Arriv Welcome
reception |
Thursday,
3 |
9:00
– 17:30 |
Plenary
lectures and thematic sessions, Hotel
Sopron |
Friday,
4 |
9:00
– 17:30 19:30-22:00 |
Plenary
lectures and thematic sessions, Hotel Sopron; General
Meeting of the Working Party on the History of
Chemistry Conference
dinner |
Saturday,
5 |
9:00
– 18:00 |
Excursion
(optional) |
English will be
the conference l
Conference
website: www.chemhist2009.mke.org.hu
Registration will take place via the conference website, in the online
system:
|
Before 1 June
2009 |
After 1 June 2009
|
On-site |
Participation
fee* |
EUR
230.00 |
EUR
300.00 |
EUR
350.00 |
Accompanying
person |
EUR
150.00 |
EUR
220.00 |
EUR
250.00 |
*The
participation fee includes: welcome reception, coffee breaks, lunches, one
dinner, printed programme, list of participants, and book of abstracts. The fee
does not include the conference dinner on 4 August (€50.00), nor the excursion
on Saturday 5 August .
The
fee for Accompanying
persons includes welcome
reception, lunches, one dinner.
Accommodation
in Hotel Sopron (H-9400 Sopron,
Fövényverem utca 7.)
accommodation (single room/night) EUR
70
accommodation (double room/night) EUR
90
Payment of the registration
fee should be made without charges to the beneficiary, preferably
before June 15, 2009.
Payments can be made either
by credit card through the secure on-line registration system or by
bank (wire) transfer. In case of bank transfer, please use the following
data:
Bank address:
|
CIB Bank Zrt., 1027
|
Account number:
|
10700024-24764207-51100005
|
IBAN number:
|
HU16
10700024-24764207-51100005 |
Swift code:
|
CIBHHUHB
|
Reference:
|
MKE CHEMHIST
2009/3002 |
Owner of the account:
|
Hungarian Chemical
Society |
Tax number:
|
19815819-2-4 |
Cancellation
policy
Refund requests can be
submitted to the Conference Secretariat. 50% refund can be granted if
notification of cancellation has reached the conference secretariat
before July 1, 2009. No refunds can be granted after this date.
Refunds will be processed after the conference.
For further
inform
Submission
of abstracts |
15
January 2009 |
Notification
of acceptance |
15
March 2009 |
Registration
at reduced registration fee |
1
June 2009 |
Preferred
deadline for paying the fees |
15
June 2009 |