Workshop “Material Substances in Chemistry and Beyond“

Department of the History and Philosophy of Science, University of Cambridge

6 December 2022

The Association for the Discussion of the History of Chemistry (AD HOC) will host a one-day workshop on Tuesday 6 December 2022 exploring the historiography of material substances beyond the traditional boundaries of the history of chemistry.

Material substances – often literally – move across different spaces and disciplines, thereby offering a novel perspective on history. How do we study the different interactions that take place between people and substances? What is the impact of such historical accounts on our traditional understanding of chemistry and its practitioners? And how does this perspective invite us to rethink the way in which we define chemical substances themselves? This workshop will address such questions with the help of three distinguished invited speakers.

The workshop will take place in person at the Department of the History and Philosophy of Science of the University of Cambridge. Lunch will be provided. Registration is free but required (for catering purposes). In order to register, please email snh33@cam.ac.uk with the subject line ‘material substances registration’.

Organizers: Sarah Hijmans and Hasok Chang

Sponsored by the Society for the History of Alchemy and Chemistry

Programme

9.55-10.00          Introductory remarks

10.00-11.00        Lissa Roberts (University of Twente)

“Material Itineraries”

11.00-12.00        Patricia Fara (University of Cambridge)

“Chemical Canaries: Munitions Workers in World War One”

12.00-1.30          Catered Lunch

1.30-2.30             Simon Werrett (University College London)

“The Sporadic Table”

2.30-3.00             Discussion