CfP: Living in a Toxic World (1800-2000)
11th International Conference on the History of
Chemistry. Trondheim, Norway, 29 August-2nd September
2017
Living in a Toxic World (1800-2000)
Session
organized
by Ximo Guillem (Ximo.Guillem@uv.es) and José Ramón Bertomeu-Sánchez
(bertomeu@uv.es)
Institute for
the History of Medicine and Science, University of Valencia:
<www.uv.es/ihmc>
Historical studies on toxic products have
flourished during the last
decade. The
studies have been inspired in part by the growing
social concern over the thousands of new products deposited every year
into the
atmosphere, rivers, sea, ground, our food, and our bodies. During the
last two
centuries, this range of substances has included mineral products
(compounds of
mercury, lead, aluminum, arsenic), substances synthesized or isolated
in
laboratories (pharmaceuticals, plastics, and pesticides) and many other
organic
products (such as polyvinyl chloride, bisphenol-A, just to name a few).
These
substances have been employed for many different purposes: medical
therapies,
colorants, food additives, war weapons, fertilizers, pesticides, or
even as
part of everyday commodities. Historians have followed these products
in different
cultures and societies from different perspectives: history
of chemistry, environmental history, history
of public health, food history, or history of crime. A
review of recent trends on these topics can be found
in edited volumes such as Massard-Guilbaud and Mosley (2011); Le Roux
and Letté
(2013), Boudia and Jas (2013; 2014); Davis (2014); and Rodger and
Johnson (2014),
as well as in the recent special issue of Endeavour
(Bertomeu-Guillem,
2016), and the essay reviews by Jas (2014) and Guillem (2015) in the
journal Ambix.
The purpose of this session is to provide a
multidisciplinary forum for
current historical research on toxic products during the two last
centuries
(1800-2000). Papers are expected to cover issues related to the
regulation of
toxics, risk control, public and academic controversies, public and
occupational health, law (toxic torts, environmental laws, poisoning
trials,
etc.), inequalities (environmental justice, toxic segregation, etc.),
local and
global circulation (dangerous trade, standards, international
regulations, etc.).
Papers can be organized around a particular space (rivers, mines,
industries,
etc.), historical actors (victims, poisoners, activists, lawyers,
experts,
politicians, industrial managers, mass media, etc.) or products
(chemicals,
drugs, tobacco, cosmetics, pesticides, fumes, fertilizers, asbestos,
food
adulterants, genetic modified organisms, nanomaterials, criminal
poisons, etc.).
Participants are expected to present a particular case (including work
in
progress) while addressing general historiographical issues and
providing
points for comparative analysis.
Proposals of approximately 200 words summarizing the contents
of the
paper, historical actors, main focus and general approach, accompanied
by a
brief CV (one page) of the author(s), are due by 15th
January
2017. Please direct proposals or queries to Ximo Guillem
(ximo.guillem@uv.es) and José Ramón Bertomeu-Sánchez (bertomeu@uv.es)
More details in the 11th ICHC conference at the conference web site: http://www.ntnu.edu/11ichc
Contact
information
for practical questions: 11ICHC@videre.ntnu.no