CfP: (Call for Panelists): Recent Spatial Theory in the History of Science

Please find a call for panelists below for the upcoming History of Science Society (HSS) Annual Conference taking place in Mérida, Yucatán, Mexico, 7-10 November 2024.

Additional information about HSS and the full CFP can be found here: https://hssonline.org/page/hss2024cfp

Proposed Panel: Recent Spatial Theory in the History of Science

The ‘spatial turn’ in the history of science demonstrated the importance of space (and place) not merely as a backdrop for thinking through the various histories of science but as a co-producer of scientific knowledge and understanding. Since then, the study of space has been applied to a variety of topics and questions. Yet, the idea that places build people and knowledge as much as knowledge and people build places suggests connections to a range of other theories and approaches that have yet to be explored.

This panel invites discussion of the most recent approaches to spatial theory in the history of science and technology. How do scholars understand the role of space and spatial theory in the production and operation of scientific labour, knowledges, communities, or imaginaries? How does recent work in gender and queer theory challenge our understanding of the working of space within the domain of science and technology? How might the study of space be combined with other ideas and approaches to better understand historical modes of scientific creation, circulation, and disruption?

Through papers that examine a range of historical actors, times, and places, this panel aims to highlight what we have learned from the study of space and where we might go next.

Abstract submissions should be approximately 250 words (or 2,000 characters) for a twenty (20) minute paper presentation. We welcome all scholars at any stage of their career.

Please email submissions to Dr. Ellen Abrams and Dr. Sean Cosgrove by Friday, 5 April 2024.

A full panel consisting of selected abstracts will be submitted the following week (Friday, 12 April 2024) for consideration by the conference committee.
Contact Information

Ellen Abrams, PhD (McGill University)

Sean Cosgrove, PhD (University of Southern California)