Welcome to the Website of the Society for the History of Alchemy and Chemistry (SHAC), publisher of the scholarly journal Ambix.

Founded in 1935, SHAC has consistently maintained the highest standards of scholarship in all aspects of the history of alchemy and chemistry from early times to the present. The Society has a wide international membership from over thirty countries.

We hold meetings and webinars, offer scholarly prizes and grants, and publish the journal Ambix. The Society’s newsletter, Chemical Intelligence, is published twice a year. We have also established the Graduate Network to bring together postgraduate students in the field.

Keep up to date with the news and events of SHAC by following us on Facebook and Twitter.

You can watch our SHAC Online Seminars on YouTube here.

Please note that changes are processed manually and you will receive a confirmation email when our records have been updated. For any queries please find relevant contact information on https://www.ambix.org/contact-us/

Follow SHAC on social media

• Reports on several summer and autumn meetings, including the SHAC-sponsored ICHSTM Symposium, the Sites of Chemistry in the Twentieth Century conference, the James Crawford Tercentenary Conference at the University of Edinburgh, the 4th SHAC Postgraduate Workshop ‘Alchemy and Chemistry in Context’ and the ‘Chemists and Their Books’ SHAC-Bolton Autumn Meeting and others
• Information on the new Ambix Special Issue on ‘Alchemy and Religion in Christian Europe’, edited by Dr Tara Nummedal
• The new Sources of Alchemy and Chemistry series details
• Presentations of the new Officers of SHAC

Call for Registration:
4th Postgraduate Workshop on the History of Alchemy and Chemistry
‘Alchemy and Chemistry in Context’
Keynes Library, Birkbeck College
Malet Street, London WC1E 7HX
Saturday 26 October 2013

Every year the Society for the History of Alchemy and Chemistry (SHAC) runs an international workshop for graduate students and early career scholars working on the history and philosophy of alchemy and chemistry. The theme for the 2013 Workshop is ‘Alchemy and Chemistry in Context’. This interdisciplinary event will explore the interaction between chemical knowledge and the wider social, economic, religious and cultural context, across a range of historical periods – from medieval alchemy to the chemical industry.

Continue reading →

The deadline for the position of SHAC Student Representative has been extended until 30 September. SHAC are seeking nominations from anyone who is enrolled on or starting a PhD course and has research interests related to the history of alchemy and/or chemistry.

This is a great opportunity to support your field, develop your own research, and work alongside scholars at all career stages. Although the nominee does not have to be a member of SHAC at present, they will be expected to join if appointed to the position. All nominations and attachments should be submitted by 31 August 2013.

If you would like to stand for this position, please write to studentrep [at] ambix.org attaching a copy of your CV, with a cover statement explaining why the role interests you, and what you feel you could bring to Council. Please include details of your doctoral project and institutional affiliation, and any past experience of organising or participating in conferences, workshops, and seminars. If you wish to nominate another person (perhaps one of your own students), please forward their CV and your supporting statement to the email above, and also encourage your candidate to forward a statement of interest.