Newsletter Volume 17 No. 1 Issue 31 (Spring 2005)

President's Semi-Annual Report

April 2005

Arrangements are being finalized for the 2005 meeting in Guelph, Ontario. David Castle and the conference staff at the University of Guelph have put together an excellent conference venue, while Lynn Nyhart and the Program Committee have organized a rich and exciting schedule of sessions. We are looking forward to a great meeting this July.

The University of Guelph offers a relaxed and inviting setting for our meeting. Located about 45 miles west of Toronto in Ontario, Canada, the City of Guelph itself is a small, walkable city. The downtown area contains a range of restaurants and pubs all about a twenty-minute walk from the University. Conference registration and most of our meeting will be held in Rozanski Hall (see the map in this issue). Registration will be open on Wednesday afternoon and will be followed by a reception at_6 p.m. in the concourse of Rozanksi Hall on Wednesday evening. Our banquet will be held on Saturday evening at the River Run Centre in Downtown Guelph. We will provide transportation to and from the University on Saturday evening. In addition to the pubs downtown, the Bullring Pub is located on the University campus next to Rozanski Hall. The Bullring was once a livestock show pavilion and is now run by the Central Students Association (CSA) as a café and student gathering spot.

The University of Guelph has provided a range of housing and meal options. You may signup for lodging and meals through links on the registration webpages (http://www.ishpssb.org/ocs/registration.php.) You must sign up for lodging and meals by June 15, 2005.

Registration for the conference is separate from meals and lodging. Online conference registration forms will be available in April on the ISHPSSB website at http://www.ishpssb.org/ocs/registration.php. The conference registration fee is $90 for regular members and $65 for student members. Tickets for the banquet may also be purchased when you register.

If you are presenting in Guelph you must register by May 30, 2005 or you will not be included on the final program. The Council provisionally approved this registration requirement in 2004 in order to try to prevent sessions from collapsing as a result of last-minute cancellations. This requirement and other paper acceptance guidelines will be discussed at the General Membership Meeting in Guelph. We would like to adopt a permanent set of paper acceptance guidelines in Guelph and would appreciate your input.

The General Membership Meeting is open to all members and is scheduled for Friday afternoon, July 15, 2005. Please plan on attending. If you have items that you would like to add to the General Membership Meeting Agenda, please send them to me no later than June 1, 2005.

Lindley Darden and the Nominations Committee, Ana Barahona, Christiane Groeben, Nick Hopwood, Betty Smocovitis, Ida Stamhuis, and Bruno Strasser, have worked diligently to assemble this year’s slate of candidates for the ISHPSSB elections. Thank you to the Nominations Committee and to those who have agreed to run for office. Because our society runs on volunteer labor only, this kind of service is indispensable and greatly appreciated. Please take some time to read the candidates’ statements and send in the ballot included with this newsletter. The ballot is return addressed, but you will have to provide postage. The deadline for mailing your ballot is June 1, 2005. Voting is one of the most direct ways in which you can have a voice in this society. PLEASE VOTE!

In addition to assembling a great slate of candidates this year, the Nominations Committee and Lindley Darden in particular worked hard to clarify our nomination and election procedures. This process of articulating our society’s operations has been ongoing for the last two years and has culminated in an Operations Handbook, which will soon be posted on the ISHPSSB website. This Handbook represents my effort to collect and record some of the collective memory that has kept ISHPSSB running. It includes job descriptions, timetables, and reports for each society officer and committee, in so far as they were available to me. In some instances, such as nomination and paper acceptance guidelines, it became obvious that we needed to clarify our procedures. This Operations Handbook is a means for communicating our Society’s current procedures and past practices. It is not a finalized document, but a continuously developing draft. Committee Chairs and Society Officers will be asked to submit reports to update the Handbook every two years. ISHPSSB members should also feel free to suggest changes or request more information. I hope that by making the running of this Society more transparent, more members will want to participate actively in its governance. If you have questions about ISHPSSB operations or about how you can get involved, I’d like to hear from you.

Over the past two years, we have incorporated a number of electronic innovations to our Society’s operations. I am immensely grateful to our Webmaster, Roberta Millstein, for all of her work on our new website, new server, new conference software, registration forms, and PayPal payment options. These new features are very important additions for ISHPSSB. Of course, not every system is perfect. We will continue to fine tune and develop our website in the future. Your comments, suggestions, and patience are welcome.

Over the past few months, David Castle and the Local Arrangements Committee, Lynn Nyhart and the Program Committee, the Executive Committee, and Webmaster have come together to coordinate what promises to be a terrific meeting. While your papers will take center stage in Guelph, their work has set that stage, and I am extremely grateful for their thoughtfulness, time, and effort.

I’m looking forward to seeing you all in Guelph! If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me or any ISHPSSB officer.

Michael Dietrich Department of Biological Sciences, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH 03755 (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.) (603) 646-1389.

The Scene in Guelph from the Local Arrangements Folks

Transportation to and from the Airport

We are pleased to offer you special discounted transfer service between Toronto International Airport or Hamilton International Airport and Guelph via Red Car Service. When you book in advance you will receive prompt and reliable shuttle service right to your conference accommodations. Red Car Service has staffed check in booths at each terminal at Toronto Airport and provides 24-hour service. To make arrangements with Red Car Service go directly to their website at www.redcarservice.com. Click on the icon Reservations-Conference Delegates and enter the password ISHPSSB2005 when prompted. You can then book one way or round trip transfers at special rates for this conference.

Fares: One way from Toronto International Airport is $50 for one person, $74 for two people traveling to the same destination, inclusive of taxes. One way from Hamilton International Airport to Guelph is $62 for one person, $80 for two. If you need to contact Red Car Service directly you can call them at 519-824-9344

Accommodations

Campus accommodations

The fees for On Campus accommodation are listed below and are Early Bird Rates until June 20, 2005. After June 20, fees will be quoted as regular rates. The cost is per person per day and includes a continental breakfast. All beds on campus are twins. Rooms can be booked online by following the registration link at http://www.ishpssb.org/

Please be advised that the townhouses are the only air-conditioned residences. The Townhouses can accommodate up to four people in separate bedrooms. If you wish to lodge with a specific person(s), please include the name(s) on your accommodation registration.

All rooms receive daily maid service, but you may want to bring your own facecloth. Please note that although each townhouse has a kitchen with stove and fridge, no cooking utensils, dishes, cutlery, etc. are provided.

Parking in lot P18 off Dundas Lane and P19 off College Avenue is included FREE with the accommodation rate. Your parking pass will be issued when you check in. Check-in between 8:00 am and 11:00 pm is in East Residence (see map or photo). Between 11:00 pm and 8:00 am check-in is in Lambton Hall (see map or photo).

To reserve accommodation on campus at the conference rate, you must complete the on-line campus accommodation form.

Hotel Accommodations
To reserve accommodation at a local hotel at the conference rate, you must complete the on-line hotel accommodation form prior to June 13. Conference rates will not be available if you contact the hotels directly.

Ramada Hotel and Conference Centre
The Ramada is adjacent to the University of Guelph and is a short walk to the centre of campus. This hotel offers free parking, an on-site restaurant and a lounge. The Ramada is served by city bus #51.

The conference rate is $115 single/double if you book by June 13.

See the Ramada site for more information. To book, you must use the hotel accommodation form

Days Inn
Days Inn features 87 brand new rooms and free parking. It is located one block south of the University. Included in the room rate is a continental breakfast. The Days Inn is served by city bus #51.

The conference rate is $95/single and $105/twin if you book by June 13.

See the Days Inn site for more information. To book, you must use the hotel accommodation form.

Holiday Inn
Holiday Inn Guelph is located 1.6 kilometers west of campus. It offers an indoor pool and high-speed internet service. The Holiday Inn is conveniently located beside Stone Road Mall where you can board city bus #52 direct to the University of Guelph. If we have a large contingent staying here, we can arrange shuttle service to and from campus.

The conference rate is $138 single/double if you book by June 13.

See the Holiday Inn http://www.ichotelsgroup.com/h/d/hi/1/en/hd/yguca?irs=null site for more information. To book, you must use the hotel accommodation form.

Local Transportation

Taxi service from the University to downtown Guelph is approximately $8.00.

City bus service is available from downtown bus and train stations to campus accommodations.

Adult bus fare is $2.00 and exact change is required. Ten tickets can be purchased for $17 at the Information Desk in the University Centre, at Robinson’s Flowers downtown on Wyndham Street, and at various stores in Guelph.

Buses operate Monday through Saturday, leaving St. George’s Square downtown at quarter to the hour and quarter after, commencing at 5:45 a.m. and every half hour until the last trip out of the downtown Square at 12:15 a.m. Buses operate Sundays, leaving St. George’s Square at quarter to the hour and quarter after, commencing at 9:15 a.m. and every half hour until the last trip out of the Square at 6:15 p.m.

Routes
The most direct route between downtown and campus is Route #52. Downtown, you can board the #52 bus next to the fountain in St. George’s Square, a short walk from the Greyhound Bus Terminal and the Via Rail Station. The main bus stop on campus is in front of the University Centre. All the buses that enter campus stop at the “UC”. There are also bus stops at various points around U of G’s ring road.

The on-campus townhouse accommodations are served by #52, which stops on East Ring Road at the corner of Arboretum Road, almost directly opposite the townhouse complex. To go downtown from campus, you can pick up a bus at this stop or at the University Centre in front of the Albert A. Thornbrough Building.

Computer Services/Internet Access

Computers are available for use at the McLaughlin Library on campus. There is no user charge. These computers are equipped with a wide variety of software as well as internet access.

If you need to print or photocopy, you will be required to purchase a vendacard. These are available at self-service machines on the main floor of the library. The library’s hours are 7 am to 2 am (may change during the summer–have to find out.)

Guelph and Surrounding Area
For everything you ever wanted to know about Guelph, visit the City’s website at http://www.guelph.ca.

Restaurants and bars
Downtown Guelph offers a culturally-diverse choice of fine dining establishments, family-friendly restaurants, intimate cafÈs, and bars. Many have outdoor patios which can be the perfect spot to spend some time on a summer evening.

Shopping
Whether you’re looking for funky boutiques, large shopping malls, antique markets, country or city farmers’ markets, or specialty shops, there’s a little bit of everything in and around Guelph.

Activities
Walk, bike or hike the many trails through Guelph. Join in planned activities, like walking tours of the city. Rent a canoe and get a totally different view of the city from the water. For an up-to-date list of festivals and events, please visit the city’s website.

Notice about Memberhip Renewals

Members are invited to renew when they register for the biennial meeting. Since all memberships run for two years, this process keeps everyone on track, and helps us minimize additional mailings and reminders.

If you are unable to attend a meeting, and forget to renew, we will include a reminder with the fall Newsletter following the meeting.

Your renewal date is always printed on the mailing label for the Newsletter.

If you currently need to renew, your mailing label will read “Dues through 2004,” indicating that you have not paid since 2003. You may renew your membership when you register for the meeting. If you are not attending the meeting in Guelph, please visit our website to use PayPal service to pay by credit card! You may also download a renewal form and mail that to Keith.

In the past, we have kept sending Newsletters to members after their memberships have lapsed, in the hope that they would renew when they attended the next meeting. Because of increasing costs, and to avoid sending Newsletters to people who no longer wish to receive them, the fall issue of odd-numbered years will be the last that people with an even-numbered “Dues through” date will receive.

If you ever have any question about your membership status, feel free to contact Chris Young, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Upcoming ISHPSSB Deadlines

Nominees for upcoming ISHPSSB election

This article contains the Nominating Committee's slate for the ISHPSSB election, along with biographies of the nominees. Many thanks to all who suggested names and to the members of the Nominating Committee for their diligent work since January: Ana Barahona, Christiane Groeben, Nick Hopwood, Betty Smocovitis, Ida Stamhuis, Bruno Strasser.

We all owe many thanks to our current Officers and Council members who are preparing for the ISH05 meeting in Guelph in July: Michael Dietrich, President; Lynn Nyhart, Program Chair; David Castle, Local Arrangements Chair; the three council members who will step down after the Guelph meeting: Ana Barahona, Christiane Groeben, and Hans-Joerg Rheinberger, and the three continuing Council members: Joe Cain, Kathy Cooke, and Phil Sloan. Vivette Garcia Deister is the student representative to the Council; students elect their representative after the general membership meeting in Guelph. Students, plan to attend and vote! Garland Allen, the President-Elect, will take over after the Guelph meeting and then preside at ISH07 in Exeter, England. Gar is working to find a site for ISH09 in North America; if you are interested in being a host, contact him immediately.

Our current able and hard working Secretary, Chris Young, and Treasurer, Keith Benson, have agreed to stand for reelection. We must also elect a President-Elect, who will become President for 2007-2009, a Program Officer for ISH07, and three members of the council for 2005-2009.

In choosing the following nominees, the Nominating Committee strove to achieve balance with regard to field, gender, nationality, and experience--not an easy task. We also sought to find Council nominees to complement the continuing members. We were pleased to have over 50 suggested names. We decide to nominate two Program Co-Chairs, Hans-Joerg Rheinberger and Staffan Mueller-Wille. As Staffan will be at Exeter through the ISH07 meeting, he can help with what has always been a demanding task of coordination between the Program Chair and the Local Arrangements Committee. Our sincere thanks to all we have agreed to be nominated. In accordance with the Society’s by-laws, we also solicited nominations from the membership at large.

Lindley Darden, Chair, Nominating Committee

ISHPSSB 2005 election

President-Elect (vote for one)
Scott Gilbert
James Griesemer
Lynn Nyhart

Program Co-Chairs (vote for the pair)
Hans-Joerg Rheinberger & Staffan Mueller-Wille

Secretary (vote for one)
Chris Young

Treasurer (vote for one)
Keith Benson

Council (vote for three)
Werner Callebaut
Soraya de Chadarevian
Sandra Mitchell
Philip Pauly
Jutta Schickore
Edna Suarez

Biographies of candidates

President-elect biographies

Scott Gilbert is a professor of biology at Swarthmore College, Swarthmore, PA, USA. He received his MA in the history of science and his PhD in biology from the Johns Hopkins University. He is interested in the roles of gender in science and in the history, philosophy, and social studies of embryology, particularly as it interacts with genetics. He has written the textbook Developmental Biology, edited A Conceptual History of Embryology and is expecting this fall to publish Bioethics and the New Embryology. He has been credited with writing a revisionist history of genetics, which has become the Whig history of evolutionary developmental biology, and he was singled out as an evil influence by Gross and Levitt.

James Griesemer: I have been a member of ISHPSSB since 1983 (Denison) and served on the Council (Nominations and Elections and Prize Committees) from 1997 to 1999. I'm professor of philosophy at the University of California, Davis, founding director of UC Davis's Science and Technology Studies Program, and adjunct in the Population Biology Graduate Group. I'm on the editorial boards of Biology & Philosophy, Biological Theory, and Philosophy of Science. My research in biology studies includes studies of the history, social organization, and philosophy of natural history, ecology, genetics, embryology, and evolution. My current project is a book on units of inheritance. As President, I will continue and strengthen our traditions of an open and welcoming environment for interdisciplinary scholarship, encouragement of younger scholars and informality. I will also seek out and encourage innovations such as the Society's “off-year” program.

Lynn Nyhart: I am Associate Professor in the Department of the History of Science at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Having completed Biology Takes Form: Morphology and the German Universities, 1800-1900 (1995), and coedited the Osiris volume Science and Civil Society, I am currently completing a book manuscript tentatively titled Modern Nature: The Biological Perspective in Germany, 1848 -1925, on ecological and biogeographical thought in German civic culture. I have served on the ISHPSSB nominating committee (1989-1991) and program committee (1997-1999), and am program chair for 2005. I have been coming to ISHPSSB meetings since 1985, and it remains the most intellectually stimulating meeting I regularly attend. I look forward to helping maintain and further develop the fruitful interdisciplinary exchange characteristic of this group.

Program Co-Chair biographies

Hans-J\ouml;rg Rheinberger studied philosophy and biology at the universities of Tuebingen and Berlin. He received his Ph.D. in biology in 1982, and his habilitation in molecular biology in 1987. He was a scientific coworker at the Max Planck Institute for Molecular Genetics, assistant professor at the University of Lübeck, associate professor at the University of Salzburg, and since 1997, he is director at the Max Planck Institute for the History of Science in Berlin. He has numerous publications in molecular biology and in history of science, among them: Toward a History of Epistemic Things (1997), The Concept of the Gene in Development and Evolution (co-edited with P. Beurton and R. Falk, 2000), The Mapping Cultures of Twentieth Century Genetics, 2 Vols. (co-edited with Jean-Paul Gaudilliere, 2004)

Staffan Müller-Wille received his Ph.D. in Philosophy from the University of Bielefeld in 1997. After working for the German Hygiene Museum (Dresden) as a scientific curator, he joined the Max-Planck-Institute for the History of Science (Berlin) in 2000 to collaborate with Hans-Joerg Rheinberger in the project “A Cultural History of Heredity.” Since 2004 he is holding a post as research fellow for philosophy of biology at the University of Exeter. He is author of a book on Linnaeus’s “natural system” (Botanik und weltweiter Handel 1999) and has published articles on the history and epistemology of natural history, genetics, and anthropology.

Secretary biography

Chris Young is an assistant professor of biology at Alverno College in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He has served as ISHPSSB's newsletter editor since 1996, and secretary since 1999. He completed a Ph.D. in the history of science and technology at the University of Minnesota in 1997. A book on the history of environmental science is due out from ABC-CLIO this spring, as part of the handbook series on Science and Society edited by Mark Largent. Chris considers it a privilege to work with the diverse, international membership of ISHPSSB.

Treasurer biography

Keith R. Benson is an historian of biology, with a special interest in the history of biology in North America, the history of marine sciences, the history of developmental biology, and biology & society. He is co-editor of The Development of American Biology and The American Expansion of Biology, edited the recent translation of Jacques Roger’s book, The Life Sciences in Eighteenth-century France, and is co-editor with Fritz Rehbock of The Pacific and Beyond, a multi-authored history of oceanography. In 2004, he accepted the position of Principal of Green College at the University of British Columbia, where he is also a Professor in the Department of History. He is currently Treasurer of the International Society of the History, Philosophy, and Social Studies of Biology (ISHPSSB).

Council biographies

Werner Callebaut is the scientific manager of the Konrad Lorenz Institute for Evolution and Cognition Research (KLI) in Altenberg, Austria, professor of philosophy at Limburgs Universitair Centrum, Belgium, and visiting professor in the Department of Theoretical Biology at the University of Vienna, Austria. He is a past president of the Belgian Society for Logic and Philosophy of Science. His interests are in theoretical biology (in particular, the interaction of development and evolution), philosophy of biology, and theories of economic and cultural evolution. He is a co-editor of the Vienna Series in Theoretical Biology (MIT Press) and the editor-in-chief of a new journal Biological Theory: Integrating Development, Evolution, and Cognition (MIT Press, 2006). His publications include How to Take the Naturalistic Turn, or How Real Philosophy of Science is Done (1993) and Modularity: Understanding the Development and Evolution of Natural Complex Systems (co-edited With Diego Rasskin-Gutman, forthcoming)

Soraya de Chadarevian is a senior research associate and affiliated lecturer at the Department of History and Philosophy of Science at the University of Cambridge. Currently she is spending a year at the Max Planck Institute for the History of Science in Berlin. She trained as a biologist, did her PhD in philosophy and, since then, has been working on the history of biology. Recently appeared Designs for Life: Molecular Biology after World War II (Cambridge University Press 2002). She has also published on 19th-century topics, on representational practices and historiographical issues. Currently she is working on genetics in the atomic age and on the ‘commercial turn’ in biology around 1980. She very much values the interdisciplinary and international orientation of the ISH community and their bi-annual meetings.

Sandra D. Mitchell is Professor and incoming Chair of History and Philosophy of Science at the University of Pittsburgh. Her research focuses on the epistemological and metaphysical implications of biological complexity. She has written on functional explanation, the units of selection, anthropomorphism and superorganism concepts, self organization and the nature of biological laws. Recent publications include Biological Complexity and Integrative Pluralism Cambridge 2003, “Anthropomorphism: Cross-species modeling” in Daston and Mitman (eds.) Thinking with Animals, Columbia 2004, “The Prescribed and Proscribed Values in Science Policy”, in Machamer and Wolters (eds.) Science, Values and Objectivity, University of Pittsburgh 2004. She has served on the governing board of PSA, as program chair for PSA2002, is on the editorial board of Philosophy of Science, and was on the Nominating Committee of ISHPSSB from 1993-1994. She was a fellow of the Zentrum für Interdisziplinärie Forschung in Bielefeld, the Wissenschaftskolleg in Berlin and is currently a fellow at the Max-Planck-Institut für Gesellschaftsforschung in Köln.

Philip J. Pauly is a professor of history at Rutgers University and teaches in the graduate program in history of technology, environment, and health. His current project is on horticultural improvement, plant introduction, and pest exclusion in North America during the last 250 years. His most recent book, Biologists and the Promise of American Life, appeared in 2000. He has also written about the history of experimental biology, alcohol research, psychology, and science popularization. He has served on the councils of ISHPSSB and the History of Science Society, and has been an associate editor of the Journal of the History of Biology.

Jutta Schickore is assistant professor in the Department of History and Philosophy of Science at Indiana University (Bloomington). Her teaching and research aims to forge links between history and philosophy of science, with a focus on historical and philosophical aspects of experimental practice and instrumentation in the life sciences. She has written about the entwined history of the eye and the microscope, vision studies in 19th-century Britain and Germany, the discovery-justification distinction, and the problem of errors, failures, and artifacts in biological research, and she has published in journals such as Studies in History and Philosophy of Biology and Biomedical Sciences, Perspectives on Science, Science in Context, and Medizinhistorisches Journal. In her current research project, she is exploring the idea that we ‘learn from error’.

Edna Suárez is Professor at the National University of Mexico. Her interests focus on the philosophy of experimental traditions and technology, and the history of Molecular Evolution. She has been a visiting scholar at the University of California at Irvine and Harvard University. Her publications include: “Satellite-DNA: a case study for the evolution of experimental techniques”, Studies in History and philosophy of Biological and Biomedical Sciences (2001); and Suárez, E. y A. Barahona, “The experimental roots of the Neutral Theory of Molecular Evolution”, History and Philosophy of the Life Sciences (1996). She participated at the local organizing committee of the ISHPSSB meeting at Oaxaca in 1999 and she is part of the Editorial Board of History and Philosophy of the Life Sciences.

Introducing the 2005 Program

Thanks to all of you who submitted papers and sessions, and to the program committee and friends who’ve worked over the past two years developing and soliciting sessions, we’ll be serving up a rich feast of a program this summer in Guelph. Roughly 300 presenters from across the globe will be discussing their work in some 90 sessions that represent the breadth and interdisciplinarity characteristic of ISHPSSB. The most popular theme this year is visual representations, with seven sessions (and several more individual papers) stretching across the analytical and topical range of the history, philosophy, and social studies of biology. Other session topics reach back to early modern botanical nomenclature and forward to the future of programs in Ethical, Legal, and Social Impacts of bioscience. Sessions run the gamut from popular natural history to philosophical problems of function, and from bioeconomics to morphometrics. And of course, the history, philosophy, and social studies of evolution and genetics are robustly represented, beginning with a double session, dedicated to the memory of Ernst Mayr (honorary past president of ISHPSSB), on new perspectives on the Darwinian Revolution as a topic of research and teaching.

Saturday afternoon’s plenary takes us in a new direction, with reflections on joining scholarship and social activism. Alice Dreger will talk about how her historical work on people with unusual anatomies (especially intersexes) has engaged her in working, within academia and beyond, to change biomedical policy and cultural attitudes. Brian Wynne, a sociologist of scientific knowledge, will talk about his engagement with such policy issues as nuclear “risk” in the 1970s and more recently, climate change and modern genomics, and how these intersect with his research goals. Biologist, philosopher, and lifelong radical Richard Levins will reflect on his view of a “good life” as “intellectually challenging, politically revolutionary, and engaged in with people I love.”

From “What is Life?” to “Whom Does Agricultural Research Serve?” this summer’s meeting offers a plentiful mind-feast for its international roster of participants. Please save the dates, July 13-17, and join us in Guelph!

Philosophy of Science, Technology and Society (PSTS) at the University of Twente, The Netherlands

Programme Profile
PSTS is a two-year philosophical and interdisciplinary master programme with a focus on applied science and technology, and is intended for students with a bachelor's degree (or equivalent) in engineering science, natural science, biomedical science, mathematics, computer and information science, and environmental science. We also accept students with a bachelor's degree in philosophy or science and technology studies and at least some courses in science and engineering. These students follow a modified version of the program. We believe PSTS to be a unique master programme that has the potential to attract an international body of students who, coming from a science and engineering background, are interested to study the role of science and technology in contemporary society.

Career possibilities
Based on our experience, we know that the unique combination of a bachelor's degree in science or engineering and a master degree in the area of PSTS generates a wide scope of interesting career possibilities for students, including positions in government and policy, academic and R&D research, teaching, consultancy and engineering design.

We would like to ask you if you could refer potentially interested students to our programme.

Information
Detailed information on the PSTS programme can be obtained from our website:

http://www.psts.utwente.nl/

In addition, upon your request, we are gladly willing to send you our brochure. Please send an e-mail with your postal address, and we will send you some brochures.

Martijn Visser

Study information
University of Twente
Faculty of Behavioural Sciences (GW)
Building: Cubicus
P.O. Box 217
7500 AE Enschede, The Netherlands
Fax: +31 53 489 2895
E-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Between the farm and the clinic: Agriculture and reproductive technology in the twentieth century

A one-day workshop, organised by Sarah Wilmot and Nick Hopwood, and funded by the Wellcome Trust, will be held in the Department of History and Philosophy of Science, University of Cambridge on Friday 29 April 2005.

Purpose

The reproductive technologies that through the twentieth century were increasingly used to detach sex from reproduction continue to attract intense interest. But while the history, sociology and anthropology of reproductive medicine have been actively studied for several years, we have hardly begun to explore agriculture, the other major field of reproductive innovation, and its relations to medicine. The use of animal breeding as a resource for eugenics is clear and a rich body of research on the making of hormones has linked abattoirs with laboratories, pharmaceutical companies and clinics. Yet though Adele Clarke long ago highlighted the importance of the intersection of biology, medicine and agriculture in the making of the reproductive sciences, we still know very little about farms as sites of technological innovation in the reproduction of both other animals and human beings. This workshop aims to break new ground in two main ways. First, we want to promote work on the making, organization and communication of reproductive knowledge among experts and laypeople in agricultural settings. We hope to bring together agricultural history with methodological insights from the sociology and anthropology of science, technology and medicine. Second, we want to explore the networks linking animal breeding, reproductive science, experimental biology, clinical medicine and the pharmaceutical industry. How have, not just raw materials, but also technologies and discourses, circulated between farms, abattoirs, research laboratories and clinics? To what extent and in what ways have farm animals served as a testing ground for technologies, from hormones to artificial insemination and embryo transfer, that were later developed for humans?

Programme

Adele Clarke (University of California, San Francisco) 'Reflections on reproductive sciences in agriculture in the U.S. and the U.K. since c. 1900'

Christopher Polge (University of Cambridge) 'The Animal Research Station in Cambridge'

Sarah Wilmot (University of Cambridge) 'From public service to artificial insemination: animal breeding science in early twentieth century Britain'

Abigail Woods (University of Manchester) 'The farm as clinic: managing bovine infertility in wartime Britain'

Paul Brassley (University of Plymouth) 'Beyond the dairy: the uptake of AI in other farming systems'

Naomi Pfeffer (London Metropolitan University) '"A milk round in reverse": collecting urine from animals and humans'

John Clarke (University of Oxford) 'The scientific study of reproduction and fertility in Britain, France and USA: the birth and growth of three learned societies'

Sarah Franklin (LSE) 'Ovine imbrications: from the woolsack to the egg sac in Anglo-Australian sciences of sheep'

For more information, including a booking form, please visit http://www.hps.cam.ac.uk/medicine/workshop.html.