Postponed
The Working Group on the History of the Biological Sciences meets monthly to discuss a colleague’s work in progress or to discuss readings that are of particular interest to participants.
Meetings are usually held at the Consortium offices in Philadelphia from 6:30 to 8:00 on first Thursdays. Scholars located anywhere can also participate online.
To join this working group, click "Request group membership" at right. You will receive instructions for participating online or in person.
Consortium Respectful Behavior Policy
Participants at Consortium activities will treat each other with respect and consideration to create a collegial, inclusive, and professional environment that is free from any form of discrimination, harassment, or retaliation.
Participants will avoid any inappropriate actions or statements based on individual characteristics such as age, race, religion, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, marital status, nationality, political affiliation, ability status, educational background, or any other characteristic protected by law. Disruptive or harassing behavior of any kind will not be tolerated. Harassment includes but is not limited to inappropriate or intimidating behavior and language, unwelcome jokes or comments, unwanted touching or attention, offensive images, photography without permission, and stalking.
Participants may send reports or concerns about violations of this policy to conduct@chstm.org.
Past Meetings
Lawrence Kessler joined the group, as we discussed a chapter from his on-going project, entitled "Entomology and Empire: Biological Pest Control, Diversified Farming, and Hawaiian Sugarcane Planters' Campaign for Annexation, 1893-1898." Mary Richie Mcguire (of Virginia Tech's STS Program) lead discussion.
Jim Endersby, Orchid (U. Chicago, 2016). Discussion led by Rich Bellon (Department of History, Michigan State University).
The group discussed chapters 1 and 4 from former PACHS/CHSTM post-doc fellow Abe Gibson's new book, Feral Animals in the South: An Evolutionary History (Cambridge UP, 2016).
Sigrid Schmalzer of University of Massachusetts, Amherst, discussed sections of her book, Red Revolution, Green Revolution: Scientific Farming in Socialist China (Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 2016).
The group discussed selections from Samuel Redman's Bone Rooms (Harvard, 2016).
The group discussed two recent articles with their authors: "Ark and Archive: Making a Place for Long-Term Research on Barro Colorado Island, Panama," by Megan Raby of University of Texas, Austin and "The Right Tool and the Right Place for the Job: The Importance of the Field in Experimental Neurophysiology, 1880-1945" by Samantha Muka of the University of Pennsylvania.
The group discussed Raf de Bont, Stations in the Field: A History of Place-Based Animal Research, 1870-1930 (University of Chicago Press, 2014), Introduction, Chapter 1, and Conclusion.
The group continued its semester theme of examining the decades of the twenties and the thirties. We read the introduction and chapters 2, 3 and 5 of Adam Shapiro's book titled Trying Biology: The Scopes Trial, Textbooks, and the Antievolution Movement in American Schools (University of Chicago Press, 2013). Discussion was lead by Adam Shapiro.
Our discussion centered on the Introduction, Chapters 1 and 4 of the new book by James Strick titled Wilhelm Reich, Biologist (Harvard University Press, 2015). We discussed Reich's polymathic and quite remarkable career as a scientist whose works were so controversial, that they were burned both by the Nazis and the US Government. The author James Strick joined us for the discussion.
For its first session of 2016, the group discussed Luis A. Campos, Radium and the Secret of Life (University of Chicago Press, 2015), Chapters 2 and 4, and Luis Campos joined the group to help guide the discussion.
The theme was migration and the biological sciences with an eye to exploring some recent literature. Lijing Jiang at Nanyang Technological University lead the discussion of two papers centering on two kinds of Biological Sciences and a third, which provides relevant insights on Chinese/American Scientists. Lisa Onaga of Nanyang Technological University joined and gave comments as well.Readings: Lijing Jiang, "Retouching the Past with Living Things: Indigenous Species, Tradition, and Biological Research in Republican China, 1918-1937" (manuscript). Lisa Onaga, "Ray Wu as Fifth Business: Deconstructing Collective Memory in the History of DNA Sequencing." Std. Hist. Phil. Biol. Biomed. Sci. (2014) 46: 1-14. Background Reading: Zuoyue Wang, "Transnational Science and the Cold War. The Case of Chinese/American Scientists." Isis 2010 101: 367-377.
Robin Scheffler at MIT lead a discussion of chapters 1, 4 and 6 of Doogab Yi's new book The Recombinant University: Genetic Engineering and the Emergence of Stanford Biotechnology (University of Chicago Press, 2015).
We started the year by discussing Marwa Elshakry's Reading Darwin in Arabic, 1860-1950 (University of Chicago Press, 2014).
Lijing Jiang, Postdoc, Nanyang Technological University introduced selections from Animals on Display (eds. Liv Emma Thorsen, Karen Rader, and Adam Dodd; Penn State University Press, 2013) with special guest participant Henry McGhie (Manchester Museum, UK).
Jessica Linker of the University of Connecticut introduced selections from Daniela Bleichmar's Visible Empire: Botanical Expeditions and Visual Culture in the Hispanic Enlightenment, U of Chicago Press, 2012, and presented some botanical images from her own project.
Nicole Nelson of the University of Wisconsin-Madison introduced selections from Nicholas Rasmussen's Gene Jockeys: Life Science and the Rise of Biotech Enterprise, JHU Press, 2014.
Introductory Session: Participants introduced themselves and their work and offered suggestions for readings and topics for future meetings.
Group Conveners
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