CfP: Chemistry Outside the Laboratory

The Society for the History of Alchemy and Chemistry (SHAC) invites proposals for its 13th annual postgraduate workshop, “Chemistry Outside the Laboratory.” This two-day virtual workshop follows the (al)chemical sciences beyond their traditional laboratory remit (which has long been a productive object of historical inquiry) and focuses instead on less archetypal locations of chemical substance and practice: mines, libraries, courtrooms, ecosystems, hospitals, domestic spaces, classrooms, and so forth. What happens to our understanding of alchemy, chemistry, and (al)chemical practitioners once we highlight these (secondary) spaces? How might key insights from laboratory studies, such as the attention to apparatus and other chemical materialities, inform historical work on alchemy and chemistry once they exit laboratory walls? How have chemical practitioners adjudicated the boundary between laboratory and not-laboratory at different times and places, with what consequences for the discipline and its participants?

We welcome proposals for short, 15-minute virtual talks by graduate students, postdoctoral researchers, and other early career scholars. If you are interested in presenting your work, please send a 200–300 word abstract and curriculum vitae to SHAC Student Representative Alison McManus. Note that the deadline for submissions is February 1, 2022.

Organizers:

Alison McManus, Princeton University Sarah Hijmans, Université Paris Diderot Sarah Lang, Karl-Franzens-Universität Graz Silvia Pérez-Criado, Universidad de Valencia

Sponsored by the Society for the History of Alchemy and Chemistry