CfP: British Society for the History of Science Annual Conference, 2 - 5 July 2015, Swansea University
Call for
papers
British
Society for the History of Science Annual Conference 2015
2 – 5
July 2015, Swansea University
The BSHS
Annual Conference will take place from Thursday 2 to Sunday 5 July 2015 at
Swansea University.
The BSHS
Conferences Committee now invites proposals for individual papers and for
sessions from historians of science, technology and medicine, and from their
colleagues in the wider scholarly community, on any theme, topic or period.
Proposals are welcomed from researchers of all nationalities at all stages of
their careers. Participation is in no way limited to members of the Society,
although members will receive a discount on the registration fee. Offers of
papers and sessions should be directed to bshs2015programme@bshs.org.uk
which is the address for all enquiries about the programme (see below for
enquiries about local arrangements).
Proposals
for individual papers should include an abstract of no more than 250 words, be
comprehensible to a non-specialist audience and avoid footnotes. Sessions, of
either ninety minutes or two hours, should normally consist of three or four
papers. They may also have a commentator. Proposals for alternative types of
session, such as ‘round-tables’ (e.g., history of science and ‘impact’;
managing research teams in history of science), are strongly encouraged. Please
discuss your ideas for such alternative sessions well in advance of the
submission deadline.
The
deadline for proposals is 31 January 2015.
Further details
on how to submit individual abstracts and session proposals are now available
on the BSHS website at http://www.bshs.org.uk/conferences/annual-conference/2015-swansea.
Venue
and accommodation
The
conference will be held at the Singleton Park campus of Swansea University,
which overlooks the magnificent sandy beach of Swansea Bay and adjoins
Singleton Park proper, containing botanical gardens, boating lake, and acres of
open meadow. It will start on the evening of 2 July with a plenary lecture
delivered by Prof Iwan Morus (Aberystwyth University). Friday evening will
offer a change of scene, with an opportunity to take in some of the sites and
dining options of the city. On the Saturday evening, we shall remain on campus
for the Presidential address and conference dinner featuring Welsh cuisine.
Delegates
choosing to stay in the en-suite accommodation on campus will be no more than
ten minutes from the dining facilities and the venue for the academic sessions,
the appropriately-named Faraday Building. The programme will include parallel
themed sessions, an opportunity to explore the archives and museums of the
University and the city, and optional excursions to local sites of interest. An
inclusive conference package will be available. Twin rooms can be requested.
All enquiries relating to the local arrangements should be directed to bshsswansea2015@bshs.org.uk.
About
the area
Swansea
University was founded in 1920 as the fourth college of the University of
Wales. It became a university in its own right in 2007. Currently it is
enjoying the kudos of having been shortlisted by the Times Higher for
‘University of the Year 2014’, and the anticipation of expanding on to a second
campus, due to open in 2015. History of science, medicine, and technology takes
place at the University in a number of guises: in the activities of the
historians of science based in the large History & Classics department,
whose interests span the ancient world to the twentieth century; in the
cross-campus collaboration that has led to the University become a leading
centre for Disability History; in the ‘Science, Scientists, and Society’
seminar convened by staff within the College of Science; in work on the Dillwyn
family, whose diverse nineteenth-century interests encompassed pottery,
photography, astronomy, and literature; and in the ongoing historical work on
the metal industries of South Wales, which includes the Cu@Swansea project to
preserve, interpret, and regenerate the Hafod-Morfa copperworks in the Lower
Swansea Valley. The University’s Richard Burton Archives contain not only the
eponymous collection of the actor’s papers but also the papers of Raymond
Williams, part of the South Wales Coalfield Collection, and many materials
concerning the metal industries of South Wales and the families who dominated
them in the nineteenth century.
Swansea,
Wales’s second-largest city, is situated on the sandy southwest Wales coast,
not far from the Brecon Beacons, and serves as the gateway to the Gower
peninsula, the first site in Britain to be designated an Area of Outstanding
Natural Beauty. Direct trains to Swansea run from London Paddington and
Manchester Piccadilly, taking approximately 3 hours and 4 hours respectively;
buses run directly from the train station to the University via the city
centre. Swansea can also be reached by intercity coach services. The nearest
airports are at Cardiff, and then Bristol. The attractions of Swansea include
two medieval castles, the Swansea Museum (formerly the Royal Institution of
South Wales), the National Waterfront Museum, Glynn Vivian Art Gallery, West
Glamorgan Archives, and the Dylan Thomas Centre. It can serve as your staging
post for day-trips and vacations further afield: to Worm’s Head and Rhossili
Bay, named Britain’s best beach by TripAdvisor; to the castles of Gower; to the
National Botanic Garden of Wales at Llanarthne; further west to Pembrokeshire
and the spectacular Pembrokeshire Coast Path; northeast to the Brecons; or
southeast to Wales’s capital city, Cardiff. Further information on getting to
Swansea can be found at http://www.visitswanseabay.com/tourist-information/travel-transport/.
General tourist information for the area is available at http://www.visitswanseabay.com/,
with information specific to the city to be found at http://www.visitswanseabay.com/destinations/swansea/
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Dr Ben
Marsden
Senior
Lecturer, Department of History
Associate
Member, Department of Music
Director,
Centre for History and Philosophy of Science,Technology and Medicine (CASS)
Chair, BSHS
Conferences Committee
Crombie
Annexe
Meston Walk
Aberdeen AB24 3FX
United Kingdom
e-mail: b.marsden@abdn.ac.uk
phone: +44 (0)1224 272637 (office)
web: www.abdn.ac.uk/sdhp/history/
Meston Walk
Aberdeen AB24 3FX
United Kingdom
e-mail: b.marsden@abdn.ac.uk
phone: +44 (0)1224 272637 (office)
web: www.abdn.ac.uk/sdhp/history/
Recent
publications: