CfP: XL National Congress of the Italian Society for the History of Physics and Astronomy


The 40th yearly Congress of the Italian Society for the History of Physics and Astronomy (SISFA) will be held online on September 7-11, 2020. In this difficult period the executive board SISFA has decided not to discontinue the yearly meeting of the society and explore the new possibilities given by the online format for scholarly communication. 

The Congress

The Meeting is one of a well-established series that SISFA has been organizing on a yearly basis since its foundation. It aims at promoting the research activities in the history of physics and astronomy in Italy, carried out not only by academic historians but also by independent scholars and school teachers willing to explore the role of the history of physics and astronomy in present-day teaching of the disciplines. At the same time, the Meeting provides an opportunity to strengthen the collaborations and establish new links among the members of SISFA and the members of other scholarly societies, as well as researchers working in the same and in related fields.
Historians of physics and astronomy are then invited to participate and the invitation is extended to all the scholars and researchers sharing the same kind of interests.
  • The Meeting will host both invited talks and oral communications. The official languages will be both Italian and English.
  •  The Premio di Laurea SISFA 2020 for the Best Graduate Thesis in History of Physics and/or History of Astronomy will be awarded during the SISFA 2020 Congress. 
  • A workshop exploring the subject of light from the joint perspectives of the history and the didactics of physics will be held in partial connection with the congress.

Topics

Proposals for oral communications should mainly address the history of physics and astronomy, also in connection with the related areas of mathematics, chemistry and the history of science and culture. Studies focusing on historical instruments and documentary sources regarding the mentioned fields are also relevant to the purposes of the Congress, as well as the applications of the history of physics and astronomy in science education and in museum displays.

Topical sessions

The year 2020 marks the bicentenary of Oersted’s experience on the relation between electricity and magnetism and Ampère’s foundational work on the laws of electrodynamics, as well as the centenary of the death of Italian illustrious physicist Augusto Righi (1850-1920). Special sessions dedicated to the history of electromagnetism will be organized to celebrate these anniversaries. A special thematic session will focus on the connections between science education and the history of physics and astronomy.

Outline of the Congress

The Congress will host invited talks and communications. The official languages are Italian and English