Open Call: Cavendish Arts Science Fellowship at Girton College

Applications are now open for the first Cavendish Arts Science Fellowship at Girton College. This unique collaborative opportunity is open to artists internationally and is not confined to any single aesthetic, theme, or medium. The Fellowship is financially supported.
 
Cavendish Arts Science creates new encounters between art and science that help us to examine the world and our place within it through the creation of new artistic work.
 
We are seeking thought-provoking and adventurous artists, in particular those with no previous experience of interacting with scientists. The successful artist will develop ideas through engagement with physicists and other researchers and produce new work to be exhibited during the Fellowship and beyond. The Fellowship will last for one year from October 2021 and will normally include a residency in Cambridge, UK of at least four months, with potential for this to be split.
 
Cavendish Arts Science is an initiative of the University of Cambridge, Cavendish Laboratory for Physics. The Cavendish Arts Science Fellowship at Girton College is made possible through a partnership with Girton College. The programme is supported by a generous donation from Una Ryan.
 
Open call deadline: midnight 16 May 2021
 
For more information and to apply please visit: https://cavendish-artscience.org.uk

Call for papers: Writing the Heavens. Celestial Observation in Literature, 800–1800

Call for papers, extended deadline: 30 September, 2020
Conference: "Writing the Heavens. Celestial Observation in Literature, 800–1800"
May 20-22, 2021 – Dr Karl Remeis Observatory, Bamberg (Germany)

Organizers: Aura Heydenreich, Florian Klaeger, Klaus Mecke, Dirk Vanderbeke, Jörn Wilms - ELINAS (Center for Literature and Natural Science)

Confirmed speakers: 
Raz Chen-Morris (Hebrew University, Jerusalem)
Alexander Honold (University of Basel)
Hania Siebenpfeiffer (University of Marburg)

In the Middle Ages and early modernity, celestial observation was frequently a subject for verbal rather than numerical and geometrical recording. Astronomical genres, in the hands of natural philosophers, poets, chroniclers, travellers, geographers, educators and others mediated knowledge of the heavens in textual form. Before the modern academic institutionalization of astronomy, such celestial knowledge extended from the cosmological to the meteorological, with applications and implications that touched upon a wide range of discourses, be they theological, legal, political, medical or agricultural. From Carolingian scholarly commentaries to the lyrical description of the 'cosmic garden' in Erasmus Darwin, the formal shape of these representations is intimately connected with the questions raised by astronomy, and the possible answers they might elicit. Such texts could variously function as (mimetic) models of the universe, and simultaneously offer (pragmatic) models for specific types of behaviour. In this, they were deeply enmeshed in their historical, geographical, scholarly, popular, religious, philosophical, and generic environments. For the modern scholar, these records can be difficult to decode, and the question of what they address or seek to explore is obscured by the respective generic traditions, tropics and imagery, and other discursive contexts. However, as tokens of pre- and early modern 'astroculture', they allow insight into the changing epistemic place of astronomy throughout the millennium in question. By most accounts, this millennium includes a number of distinct historical periods, and studying the transformation of astronomical knowledge and its representations over the longe durée can shed light on the integrity and utility of such chronological constructs as well as on the transformative processes, the linguistic changes, and the conceptual revaluations that inform them.

This interdisciplinary conference seeks to establish and facilitate a dialogue between literary studies, astronomy (and physics more generally), and the history of science. The convenors invite papers on medieval and early modern 'literature' of celestial observation in a broad sense, ranging from what would today be deemed 'fictional' to 'non-fictional' writings, from scholarly works to popular genres. How, we ask, are textual forms bound up with pre-modern astronomy and its institutions? What kinds of data are represented in these texts and what are the modes in which they are communicated? What interpretational problems arise when present-day disciplines like climatology, meteorology, geophysics, and astronomy, but also literary studies, try to access them, and what solutions might be offered? Which technological and interpretive tools are at our disposal to recover and make sense of astronomical data and references in pre- and early modern texts, and what insights could be gained from an interdisciplinary approach? How were verbal representations of celestial phenomena encoded and self-consciously placed vis-à-vis other systems of representation and knowledge? How were discourses on law, anthropology, aesthetics etc. entangled with astronomical observation and knowledge? How did they realize their own medial, didactic, informational, aesthetic potential? How did they reflect on the forms of knowledge they engaged (especially in terms of the epistemological purchase of 'observation' and 'imagination')? How was astronomical knowledge used to construct continuities with, or differences from, antiquity and the Judaeo-Christian or Hellenic traditions?  Which spatialized conceptions of human nature were recognizable before and immediately after the (alleged) 'Copernican disillusionment'? How did individual scholars, texts, and concepts travel between European and non-European cultures, both in space and in time, and which constructions of self and other arise in the process?

Papers of twenty minutes each are invited on topics including but not limited to:

• the historiography of medieval and early modern astronomical writing 
• the recovery of celestial 'data' in medieval and early modern texts for productive use in modern science (including climatology, meteorology, geophysics, and astronomy)
• methodological approaches to, and desiderata for, interdisciplinary work in the field
• the institutionalization of genres as 'forms of knowledge' (including textual genres such as histories, almanacs, chronicles, or broadsheets and their representational strategies)
• rhetorical strategies (including metaphors and other tropes) and their legitimizing function in the production of authoritative knowledge in poetic and other discursive contexts, such as law, anthropology, aesthetics
• the ideological functionalization of ideas of cosmic order and semanticizations of mankind's cosmic place
• links between textual and material astroculture in the period 
• transfers of knowledge and networks of knowledge, including the dissemination, reception and transformation of classical texts.

While we will be seeking external funding, we cannot commit to covering the speakers' expenses.

Please submit 200-300 word abstracts until 30 September, 2020 to klaeger@uni-bayreuth.de, vanderbeke@t-online.de, joern.wilms@sternwarte.uni-erlangen.de, aura.heydenreich@fau.de or klaus.mecke@physik.uni-erlangen.de.

A Play a Day in May

What started out as a silly joke almost a year ago became an overly dramatic reading project for the lockdown month of May. Something appealed about spending a short amount of time each day immersed in a different theatrical world. I had been enjoying discussions of the National Theatre at Home weekly broadcasts with friends, and wanted to explore the genre in more depth, even if that meant reading a script without seeing it fully staged. Crucially, I had discovered that the University subscribes to the Drama Online site, where almost all of the plays I would read could be accessed for free.

I deliberately didn’t think too long and hard about the list I put together, beyond determining some basic principles: they had to be plays I hadn’t read before; to be a mix of some classic and some more recent works; to be by a diverse range of authors; and to include no Shakespeare… A few minutes’ sleuthing around the internet threw up some interesting-sounding suggestions, to add to others that I had always been meaning to get around to reading.

To the astonishment of no-one more than myself, 31 days later, I have read 31 plays. I had to be flexible, of course: I re-ordered my original list when delivery dates for the few books I did buy were delayed; on some days I had time to read more than one play, to compensate for the days when I couldn’t read any at all. But by the end of the month, I'd made it to the end of the list, from Lucy Prebble's well-crafted analysis of experiment and experience in The Effect to Liz Loughhead's brutal updating of Medea.

Along the way, I think I learned some general lessons for our current situation. First, that in the midst of uncertainty, it can be helpful to pick an achievable, and time-limited project. Second, that a willingness to adapt to changing circumstances is required, even within a strict plan. Third, it is not a case of all or nothing, and much can be gained from encountering something in a different form when it can’t be experienced in person.

Almost every play will remain with me, in whole or in part: a remembered phrase, a character trait, a plot twist, or a stage direction. Although I had selected and listed the plays almost at random, themes and patterns seemed to constantly emerge: contrasting pairs, frustrated ambitions, intergenerational conflicts, questions of faith and fate, science and art, violence and love.

But what to recommend? Henrik Ibsen’s Hedda Gabler, for the compelling character study at its heart. Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun, for its claustrophobic evocation of familial tensions and aspirations. Martin Sherman’s Bent, for tragic hope and human connection in the dark. And if you’ve only seen the TV adaptation of Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s Fleabag, then you are in for a treat.

So that was May, but what for June...?

Full list of 31 plays

(*Potentially of particular interest to Science and Literature Reading Group members!)

Date	Playwright	Play
1	Lucy Prebble	The Effect*
2	Noel Coward	Private Lives
3	Sophie Treadwell	Machinal*
4	Jessica Swale	Blue Stockings*
5	Timberlake Wertenbaker	Our Country's Good
6	Samuel Beckett	Happy Days
7	Henrik Ibsen	Hedda Gabler
8	Theresa Ikoko	Girls
9	Anton Chekhov	The Seagull
10	Yasmina Reza	'Art'
11	Lucy Kirkwood	Chimerica
12	Phoebe Waller-Bridge	Fleabag
13	Eugene O'Neill	Long Day's Journey into Night
14	Pierre de Marivaux	La dispute*
15	Pedro Calderon de la Barca	Life Is a Dream
16	Caryl Churchill	Far Away
17	Lorraine Hansberry	A Raisin in the Sun
18	August Wilson	Ma Rainey's Black Bottom
19	Athol Fugard	Sizwe Bansi is Dead
20	Janice Okoh	Three Birds
21	Martin Sherman	Bent
22	Iman Qureshi	The Funeral Director
23	John Osborne	Look Back in Anger
24	Tony Kushner	Angels in America*
25	Tim Crouch	An Oak Tree
26	A. Al-Azraki	The Takeover
27	James Graham	Sketching
28	Jean Racine	Phedra
29	Aphra Behn	The Rover
30	Federico Garcia Lorca	The House of Bernada Alba
31	Liz Lochhead	Medea

The Science and Literature Reading Group will be taking a break for the 2019-20 academic year, but we hope to organise some one-off events - watch this space!

Davy Notebooks Project

Join in the Davy Notebooks Project and help transcribe these important sources for anyone interested in science and literature.

About the project:

Aims

Sir Humphry Davy (1778-1829) was perhaps the most famous chemist of the nineteenth century. This project aims to transcribe five of Davy’s early notebooks, which show his experiments in both chemistry and poetry.

The notebooks selected for this pilot run reveal how Davy’s mind worked and how his thinking developed. Containing details of his scientific experiments, poetry, geological observations, travel accounts, and personal philosophy, Davy's notebooks present us with a wide range of fascinating insights. Many of the pages of these notebooks have never been transcribed before. By transcribing these notebooks, we will find out more about the young Davy, his life, and the cultures and networks of which he was part.

The transcriptions produced by Zooniverse participants, and images of the manuscript pages, will later be published online on a custom-built, open access website, providing unprecedented access to these important historical documents. All individual participants will be given the option to be listed in the Acknowledgements section of the Davy Notebooks Project website. This is entirely optional, and at the sole discretion of each individual participant.
We hope that transcribers will also take part in the next run of our FutureLearn Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) ‘Humphry Davy: Laughing Gas, Literature, and the Lamp’. You will be able to sign up to this course at the end of July and the four-week course will begin on 28 October 2019.

Davy’s Notebooks in the RI

The RI holds an important collection of seventy-one unpublished notebooks written by Davy. Davy held several positions at the RI (Director of the Laboratory, 1801-25; Professor of Chemistry, 1802-12; Honorary Professor, 1813-23) and did his most important research there. The current run of the Davy Notebooks Project is intended as a pilot: we aim to transcribe five notebooks between June-September 2019. If successful, the project will later be expanded, and further notebooks will be transcribed.

Cavendish film screening

_________________________________

The Cavendish Research Staff Committee presents:

Free screening of the Award-Winning Film:

THREE IDENTICAL STRANGERS

Along with a discussion with expert panelists:

Dr Maurice Chiodo - Centre for Mathematical Sciences 

Dr Jennifer Cobbe - Cambridge University's Trust & Technology Initiative

Dr Kanta Dihal - Leverhulme Centre for the Future of Intelligence

   

Friday, July 12th, 18.30

Small Lecture Theater, Cavendish Laboratory 

RSVP

_______________________________________________________________ 

This is the first event in a series which will address topics concerning ethics in science and how new technologies might impact society.

On our opening event, we will start by trying to tackle some of the more general and thorny questions such as: "Is it the scientists' responsibility to consider the ethical implications of their work?", "Have scientific progress and technological developments failed us?", and "How do we decide what is good for society?"

We will explore these questions with the help of guest panelists, the screening of the Award-winning docufilm Three Identical Strangers by DogWoof productions, and interactive audience participation.

Vegetarian, vegan, and gluten-free food will be provided. Please email us at cambridge.research.ethics@gmail.com if you have any other dietary restrictions.

Guests and family members are welcome!

You are encouraged to register for the event here. 

The Cavendish Laboratory Research Staff Committee

Campaign to save Charles Lyell's notebooks

Charles Lyell (1797 - 1875) is well known for his part in the Darwinian evolutionary debates, his travels to America and his role in convincing readers of the significance of 'deep time'. During the past decade, Lyell's geographical theory of climate and his subdivisions of recent geological periods have gained renewed attention in connection with discussions of climate change and the Anthropocene. The Lyell archive is almost certainly the most important manuscript collection relating to nineteenth century science still in private hands. At its core are 294 notebooks, which provide a daily record of Lyell's private thoughts, reading notes, travels, field observations and conversations from the mid-1820s to his death half a century later.

In order for the family to meet inheritance tax, the Lyell notebooks were sold to an unknown foreign buyer towards the end of last year. Fortunately, the UK government has imposed a temporary export ban to enable fundraising to purchase these remarkable documents, conserve them, and make them available on-line for free to the public. The University of Edinburgh Library, which already has the largest collection of Lyell material, is organizing the campaign. The website for this became active at the end of last week. The sum required is £1,444,000; major donors have already pledged more than a third of the total needed.

The temporary export ban has an initial deadline of 15th July, so time is extremely short. If significant progress is made, then it may be extended until 15th October. Therefore, all who are interested are asked to pledge a donation, which will only be collected when the required amount is achieved. For more information about the notebooks and to make a pledge, please click on https://www.ed.ac.uk/giving/save-lyell-notebooks/pledge-to-save/ If you, your students and friends can give anything to this campaign--even five pounds or a pound--it will make a big difference, not least in showing larger donors that there is substantial public interest and concern. It would be great if we can get the donor count over 1000.

I'd appreciate it if you could pass on this message to anyone who might be interested, and to any other relevant lists.

Jim Secord (jas1010@cam.ac.uk)
Professor of History and Philosophy of Science
Director, Darwin Correspondence Project
University of Cambridge

10th June - The Periodic Table

In recognition of the International Year of the Periodic Table, the Science and Literature Reading Group is teaming up with AD HOC (Association for the Discussion of the History of Chemistry) for a special seminar on Primo Levi's classic piece of science-writing, The Periodic Table.

We will meet on Monday 10th June at 5pm, in the Department of History and Philosophy of Science.

Readings:

• Primo Levi (1919-87), The Periodic Table (1975): ‘Potassium’, ‘Nitrogen’, ‘Carbon’. 

Contact Melanie if you would like a copy of the chapters, as well as the introduction by Philip Roth to the Penguin edition.

All welcome!

4th June - Heavens and earth

Please note new date and venue

We will meet at Homerton College at 5pm on Tuesday 4th June at for the fourth in this term's series of Science and Literature Reading Group sessions on texts published 100 years ago in 1919. Please meet at the Porters' Lodge on Hills Road.

We will focus on poems about the heavens and earth:

• Sri Ananda Acharya, Snow-Birds, especially 'Aurora Borealis', 'A New Star', 'The Pole-Star', 'The Fall of the Heavens'
• May Wedderburn Cannan, ‘Stars’
• Wallace Stevens, ‘The Curtains in the House of the Metaphysician’
• W.B. Yeats, ‘The Phases of the Moon’

 All welcome!

Job - Research Associate, 'The Scientific Conference: A Social, Cultural, and Political History'

Postdoctoral Research Associate, 11 months full time
 

Salary range: £37,912 rising to £43,333


Start date: 1 September or as soon as possible thereafter


Closing date for applications: 30 June 2019

The Department of History at Birkbeck College, University of London, invites applications for a full-time Post-Doctoral Research Associate post for 11 months, to work with Dr Jessica Reinisch as part of a new HERA project on The Scientific Conference: A Social, Cultural, and Political History 
The project explores the evolution of scientific and medical conferences as public spaces where knowledge is defined and exchanged, communities are shaped, and international relations are performed. We will trace the history of their emergence and development over the long twentieth century, study their various forms, and identify their inclusionary and exclusionary effects.
Project partners are Professor S. E. W. Widmalm (Uppsala University, Sweden), Dr Jessica Reinisch (Birkbeck), Dr Charlotte Bigg (Centre Alexandre Koyré, France), Dr Geert Somsen (Maastricht University, Netherlands). UK-based Associate Partners include the Science Museum and Royal Observatory Greenwich.

The Post-Doctoral Research Associate will assume responsibility for a case study that contributes to the project strand on 'Scientific and medical experts and the conferences of international organisations, ca. 1920 – 1965'. The case study will be based on archival research and will help to shed light on the nature, work and impact of scientific experts at the conferences of international organisations in the interwar, war and post-war decades. Research questions for this project strand include:

• What roles did scientific and medical experts perform at these conferences, and with what results?
• Of what significance were the locations and formats of the conferences?
• How important were these organisations' conferences to their programmes, mandates, self-representation and public perception?
• To what extent and by what means did these conferences give rise to a new 'public sphere' for internationalists of the post-war era, complete with their own language and cultural practices?
• In what formal and informal ways did conferences reflect and shape international relations and wider geopolitical realities?

The Post-Doctoral Research Associate's work is expected to lead to academic publications.
In addition to research on the case study, the Post-Doctoral Researcher will be involved in all aspects of the project and Birkbeck's Centre for the Study of Internationalism so as to gain valuable professional and intellectual experience.

Applicants must have, or expect to obtain shortly, a PhD with a specialisation in modern history, the history of science, technology and medicine or related field. Prior experience of conducting archive research is essential, as is the ability to work in a team. Working knowledge of a relevant language other than English is highly desirable. A commitment to distributing academic knowledge widely and accessible is highly desirable, as is a demonstrable interest and track record in the themes and facets of the project.

The position is based in London but will require travel to the relevant archives. Research expenses for these trips are included in the post.

The position will start on 1 September 2019 or as soon as possible thereafter.

To apply, please click on apply below and provide a CV, a research statement of up to 1,000 words, and a statement explaining how your background and interests fit the position's requirement.

Remuneration

Grade 7 of the College's London Pay Scale which is £37,912 rising to £43,333 per annum.
The salary quoted is on the College's London Pay Scale which includes a consolidated Weighting/Allowance which applies only to staff whose normal contractual place of work is in the Greater London area.


Enquiries

If you would like to know more about the role please click on apply below or contact Dr Jessica Reinisch, via j.reinisch@bbk.ac.uk.

If you have technical issues or difficulties using the recruitment portal please contact jobs@bbk.ac.uk, providing your name and the job reference number of the position.
While we are happy to respond to all informal enquiries, only formal applications through the online system will be considered.

Birkbeck offers a competitive salary & pension scheme, 31 days paid leave, flexible working arrangements & some of the most generous benefits in the HE sector, all while being located right in the heart of Central London with access to all its facilities.

We welcome applicants from all sections of the community. The College is committed to improving the gender & cultural diversity of its workforce, holding an Athena SWAN award, membership of WISE, operating Disability Confident & Mindful Employer schemes.

Interviews will take place on 12 July 2019.

To apply, please find the application portal here.