Histories of the Future

History of Science Annual Workshop, Princeton University

Co-organizers: Fred Gibbs (University of New Mexico), Joanna Radin (Yale University), and Erika Milam (Princeton University)

Dates: February 6-7

Time: February 6, 1:30 PM - 6:00 PM

February 7, 9:00 AM - 6:00 PM

Location: Dickinson Hall, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ

Histories of the Future—a conference held at Princeton University on February 6 and 7, 2015—will consider the ways that science fiction and speculative nonfiction overlap to provide both scientists and popular audiences with visions of the future that are often surprising in their coherence.

We explore the intersection between professional and popular theorizing about the future of the cosmos, nature, and technology. Such futures, of course, linger at the edge of scientific respectability, and we have invited scholars who analyze a range of historical actors, from academically credible scientists, physicians, and engineers, to the authors of science fiction (and their occasional overlap).

Controversies over scientific ideas, from evolution to climate change, have been contentious as much for their (implied and explicit) futures as for their pasts. We re-excavate the history of the sciences by attending to these varied constructions of humanity’s destiny, from the seventeenth century to the early twenty-first.

Together with the essays on the website, a set of primary source materials will serve as common ground for our discussion at the conference. If you would like to attend, you will need to read all of this material ahead of time. Please register for the conference with Ms. Jackie Wasneski (wasneski@princeton.edu) and she will supply you with the readings.

For more information, and to register: www.histscifi.com