Dear Colleagues,

Please join us for the final Science Museum Research Seminar in the Autumn series. Please note that the seminar is at 17h.

Dr Amanda Rees and Dr Sam Robinson, 'Creating Citizen History of Science: technology, counterfactuals, and choose your own adventure!’ (University of York)

 

Tuesday 12 December, 17.00–18.00, followed by drinks.

Dana Study

Dana Research Centre and Library, 

165 Queen's Gate, London SW7 5HD. 

 

If something isn’t real, or true – if it’s (whisper it) fake – then, other than to debunk it, it can sometimes be hard to see why you should study it. By focusing on the histories of the future, this paper will show how the humanities, and in particular the history of science, can engage with the unreal, the fictional and the imaginary. By doing this, we will show how the idea of ‘expertise’ and the figure of the ‘expert’ can be interpreted more broadly, and indicate ways in which non-historians can influence the structure and shape of academic histories. We will begin by exploring these ideas in relation to science fiction, the nature of fictional realities and the impact of the imaginary on academic disciplines, and we will end (we hope) with a game in which players can reconstruct – and sometimes redirect – the history of the 20^th century.

 

 

The Research Seminars are open to students, museum professionals and academics with an interest in research relating to material culture and museums. 

We look forward to seeing you. 

Convened by Bergit Arends and Oliver Carpenter 

 

 

Dr Bergit Arends

Acting Research and Public History Manager

 

Dana Research Centre and Library

Science Museum

165 Queen’s Gate

London SW7 5HD

 

Tel 0207 942 4036

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www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/research