Working Groups

Andrea Gaytan Cuesta and Anne Pfister - University of North Florida will present: Nocheztli & Chapulines: Insect Imaginaries and Commodification in Oaxaca, Mexico followed by a discussion.

Elena Schaa - "Heisenberg's Experience of the Matrix Mechanics on Helgoland." 

Philip Scranton, Rutgers University

"The Auto Parts Maze in the US and the USSR, 1946-1980" 

This is a chapter of Prof. Scranton's book manuscript Spare Parts: A Global History of a Modern Problem, forthcoming from Johns Hopkins in 2026. 

Abstract:

Catarina Madruga (Museum für Naturkunde Berlin), Archival collections and specimens from German “Kamerun" in the Museum für Naturkunde Berlin 

Archaeothanatology: A method for determining mortuary practices in ancient societies (In Turkish) (Yasemin Yılmaz)

Grant Writing Master Class

Topics: Think big questions and frame them well; crafting your grant; personal experience.

Speakers:  Gerardo Ienna is postdoctoral researcher at the University of Verona, Italy, and a Marie Curie global fellow (Grant Number 101026146). Simone Turchetti is Professor in history of science and technology at the Manchester University, UK, and PI of the ERC research project “Neworldata”.

Concluding Reflections & Outlook

Topics: What was good and what could be changed; take-homes; networking opportunities.

Discussants: everyone, please join us one last time!

Dario di Rosa (University of the South Pacific) "Melanesia: A Semantic History" <p> The name ‘Melanesia’ looms large in the mythistory of anthropology as the site where the ethnographic method took its modern form, as well as the locus for many important theoretical concepts (gift exchange, big-men, cargo cults, dividuals, etc.). While all students of anthropology are exposed to ‘Melanesia’ in their studies, most specialists of the region are quick to add caveats to its definition.

UCLA Heat Lab

Panelists: Bharat Venkat (UCLA)

Jean-Philippe Martinez - "The Fock-Infeld Dispute: An Illustration of the Renaissance of General Relativity in the Soviet Union"
Guest Expert: Jean-Philippe Martinez

On the Multivalent Nature of Colors ... Or ... What can Prussian blue tell us about color in the world?

Tiago Silva Alves Muniz (Universidade Federal de Goiás): The Struggle for Natural Rubber Species: Local Processes and Global Stories Moved (Around) the World

Dominik Hünniger (German Port Museum Hamburg)
&
Anita Guerrini (Horning Professor in the Humanities Emerita at Oregon State University)
 
Title: Collection Ecologies Endeavour Special Issue Work-in-Progress Sesssion

The Infamous ‘Tartan Ribbon’ 
The James Clerk Maxwell and Thomas Sutton Saga with Historical Context and Technical Clarifications

By Paul Elter 

Leah Malamut, University of Minnesota, will present "Evolutionary Imperialism: Sex and Social Insect Hierarchies," followed by a discussion.

Charlotte Ribeyrol (Sorbonne Université and Ashmolean Museum, Oxford) on 'the Colourful Literary Imagination of the Victorian architect William Burges (1827-1881)'

Tuli Mekondjo (Windhoek): Oimbodi Yedu: Herbs of the Soil

Banji Chona (Lusaka): Weeds to Who? An Ecological Reimagining of Zambezian Plants

Romuald Tchibozo (Université d'Abomey-Calavi): Plants in Contemporary Art: The Case of Meschac Gaba in Benin

Edwin Coomasaru (London): Plantation Ecologies in Sri Lankan Art: Gender, Sexuality and Environmental Aesthetics