CfP: Knowledge transfer in the history of physics
Call for papers
XV. Physikhistorische Tagung des Fachverbands Geschichte
der Physik der DPG, February 25–March 1, 2013 in Jena (Germany)
Knowledge transfer in the history of physics
What happens when an experimental method or a theoretical
tool is applied in a new context? What can be learnt from such processes of
knowledge transfer—not only about the abstract dynamics of physics as
scientific discipline, but more concretely about the actors and their
intentions? What follows for the specific mechanisms of knowledge transmission
and transformation, for the generation of knowledge, or for the emergence of
local practices and new (sub-)disciplines?
Transferring methods within physics is but one form of
knowledge transfer. The history of physics has witnessed many other forms of
transfer, be it temporal—such as the reception of atomism of antiquity in the
early modern period—or spatial—such as the transfer of optics from the Arabic
world to Europe in the middle ages or the diffusion of quantum mechanics in the
US during the twentieth century. Similar processes take place when physical
concepts and methods are transferred from their original research contexts into
teaching at universities or in schools.
Processes of knowledge transfer constitute an important
topos in the history of science since at least the 1990s. It turns out that
such processes can only be understood if one accounts for the changes that both
the knowledge and the actors, instruments, and practices go through during the
transfer. Often, a transfer of knowledge affects not only the practices in the
new field of application, but also those in the original field.
The XVth History of Physics Conference of the History of
Physics Section of the German Physical Society (DPG) will be devoted to the
fertile question of knowledge transfer in the history of physics. We invite
proposals for contributions (in both English and German) dealing with the
transfer of knowledge within physics, between physics and other disciplines, or
between physics and society. The unprecedented growth of physics as a
discipline during the course of the twentieth century—which went hand in hand
with a diversification into sub-disciplines and an internationalization of
physics—provides ample opportunity for the historical study of processes of knowledge
transfer and transformation in a multitude of contexts. Our conference,
however, refrains from focusing solely on modern physics and explicitly invites
contributions dealing with earlier processes of knowledge transfer.
The conference will be held on occasion of the spring
meeting of the DPG in Jena, Germany, (February 25–March 1, 2013). The deadline
for the submission of abstracts is projected to be November 30, 2012. Abstracts
will have to be submitted via the online submission system of the DPG http://www.dpg-physik.de/veranstaltungen/tagungen/
The link to the conference as well as the actual deadline will be published in
Summer 2012 in the Physik Journal and on the homepage http://www.physikgeschichte.org/ of
the History of Physics Section of the DPG. Abstracts—including title, authors,
and addresses—should not exceed 25 lines in the target format, which typically
allows for roughly 200 words of text in the abstract. Questions about the
conference should be directed (preferably via e-mail) to
Dr. Christian Joas
Max-Planck-Institut für Wissenschaftsgeschichte
Boltzmannstraße 22
D-14195 Berlin
Fax: 030–22 667 124
and
Dr. Christian Forstner
IGMNT „Ernst-Haeckel-Haus“
Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena
Berggasse 7
07745 Jena
Fax: 03641 – 949 502
or to the other members of the board of the History of
Physics Section—Prof. Dr. D. Hoffmann (Berlin), PD Dr. B. Ceranski (Stuttgart),
and Prof. Dr. P. Heering (Flensburg).