Feeling the Pressure - Poetry and science of climate change
This anthology of poems and scientific texts concerned with climate change was edited by Paul Munden and published by the British Council Switzerland in February 2008. It is available to download as a pdf here.
Monday, January 04, 2010
Bibliography of Physics and Literature
Katy Price, erstwhile organiser of the Science and Literature Reading Group, has compiled an extremely helpful bibliography of works relating to (mainly) twentieth-century physics and literature. It's available on her blog here.
Opera - Three Tales
Music by Steve Reich; Film by Beryl Korot
11pm, Wed 17th - Sat 20th Feb 2010, The ADC Theatre, Cambridge
Rubbish Productions with Ensemble BPM
11pm, Wed 17th - Sat 20th Feb 2010, The ADC Theatre, Cambridge
Rubbish Productions with Ensemble BPM
“The human body is extremely limited. I would love to upgrade myself.” (Kevin Warwick)
Three Tales is a documentary digital video opera that recalls three events of significant social and scientific importance from the early, middle and late 20th century: the crash of the Hindenburg Zeppelin, the nuclear bomb testings at Bikini atoll, and the cloning of Dolly the Sheep. Through a rich tapestry of live opera and moving image, each of these reflects on the growth and implications of technology during the 20th century from early air transport to the current ethical debate on artificial intelligence and the future of our species.
Set to music by one of the greatest living composers, the Three Tales are told from various perspectives, with speech culled from interviews with eyewitnesses, audiovisual documentary material of both the Hindenburg and Bikini tragedies, and experts in computer science (Marvin Minsky), artificial intelligence (Rodney Brooks), Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz, and genetic engineering (Richard Dawkins).
Thursday, December 17, 2009
Alice's Adventures in Algebra...
Read the New Scientist article about Melanie Bayley's research here.
CFP - Science and the Public 2010
Imperial College, London, 3rd and 4th of July 2010.
Now in its fifth year, the Science and the Public conference aims to bring together the various strands of academia which consider science’s relationships with groups generally called ‘the public’. Delegates come from a wide range of disciplines: science and technology studies, history of science, geography, psychology, cultural studies, media studies, sociology, development studies, English literature, science policy studies and more.
The range of topics covered may include (but are not limited to):
* PUS, PEST, PR.
* Surveying public knowledge and attitudes.
* Science and the arts (including science fiction).
* Science, publics and personal identity.
* The role of industry and/ or the third sector in public engagement and scientific research.
* The challenges of ‘upstream’ engagement.
* Popular science and professionalization.
* Specific public-science issues: e.g. climate change, MMR, energy policy, GMOs.
* Studies of specific media: e.g. film, books, the internet, museums, radio.
* Science, religion and the ‘New Atheism’.
* Politically engaged scientists.
* Churnalism vs. investigative science journalism.
* Edu-tainment.
* Scientific advisers, spin and secrecy.
* Patients and publics in health services.
* Science and the sceptics.
* Amateur science.
Potential contributors should email a 300 word abstract to scienceandpublic@googlemail.com by 1st March 2010. Please include full contact details (name, affiliation, email) of all authors.
Panel proposals should include a panel abstract and individual abstracts for each of the papers on the panel as well as contact information (name, affiliation, email) of the presider (moderator) and all panel members.
All submissions should be emailed to scienceandpublic@googlemail.com by 1st March 2010. All other enquires also to this address.
Now in its fifth year, the Science and the Public conference aims to bring together the various strands of academia which consider science’s relationships with groups generally called ‘the public’. Delegates come from a wide range of disciplines: science and technology studies, history of science, geography, psychology, cultural studies, media studies, sociology, development studies, English literature, science policy studies and more.
The range of topics covered may include (but are not limited to):
* PUS, PEST, PR.
* Surveying public knowledge and attitudes.
* Science and the arts (including science fiction).
* Science, publics and personal identity.
* The role of industry and/ or the third sector in public engagement and scientific research.
* The challenges of ‘upstream’ engagement.
* Popular science and professionalization.
* Specific public-science issues: e.g. climate change, MMR, energy policy, GMOs.
* Studies of specific media: e.g. film, books, the internet, museums, radio.
* Science, religion and the ‘New Atheism’.
* Politically engaged scientists.
* Churnalism vs. investigative science journalism.
* Edu-tainment.
* Scientific advisers, spin and secrecy.
* Patients and publics in health services.
* Science and the sceptics.
* Amateur science.
Potential contributors should email a 300 word abstract to scienceandpublic@googlemail.com by 1st March 2010. Please include full contact details (name, affiliation, email) of all authors.
Panel proposals should include a panel abstract and individual abstracts for each of the papers on the panel as well as contact information (name, affiliation, email) of the presider (moderator) and all panel members.
All submissions should be emailed to scienceandpublic@googlemail.com by 1st March 2010. All other enquires also to this address.
Thursday, December 03, 2009
LitSciMed Social Space
Join the new Social Space of the Theories and Methods: Literature, Science, Medicine group here. For further details see here.
Boojums All the Way Through
I thought I'd add to the blog a reference to the book I mentioned at the group's last discussion -- David Mermin's delightful and fascinating collection of essays, "Boojums All the Way Through: Communicating Science in a Prosaic Age". Here Mermin explains his coinage of the Carollian term "boojum" for a particular configuration of a spherical drop of superfluid Helium-3 remaining after a precursor has "softly and suddenly vanished away", his heroic campaign to get "boojum" into Physical Review Letters, and another skirmish with the editors of Physical Review over the acceptability of referring to a paper as "charming". The volume also contains a relativistic tragicomedy that has been termed "the only [known] Elizabethan drama that is explicitly Lorentz invariant", some very nice pedagogical introductions to quantum entanglement and nonlocality, and much else for anyone involved or interested in science or scientific exposition to enjoy.
Adrian Kent
Adrian Kent
Tuesday, December 01, 2009
Alternatives Théatrâles
A while ago, we spent a very successful and enjoyable couple of terms discussing science and drama. One of the participants, Liliane Campos, has now co-edited a special issue of the journal "Alternatives Théatrâles", entitled "Côté Sciences" and dedicated to this topic. The issue includes articles by three of us -- Liliane's own contribution, one by Kirsten Shepherd-Barr, and my decidedly experimental attempt to say something about Frayn's "Copenhagen" from the perspective of a quantum physicist. Other contributors include John Barrow, Bruno Latour and Lewis Wolpert. More details and a full list of contributors here. The issue was launched late last month at Le Laboratoire.
I'm looking forward to reading the other contributions -- and maybe to the group returning to science and drama some time soon.
Adrian Kent
I'm looking forward to reading the other contributions -- and maybe to the group returning to science and drama some time soon.
Adrian Kent
CFP - Science Communication Conference
24-25 May 2010, London
The British Science Association is working in partnership with the Wellcome Trust to organise the 2010 Science Communication Conference. The event will take place from 24-25 May in central London and we are now looking for people and organisations to propose sessions.
The conference addresses the key issues facing science communicators in the UK and each year brings together people who are involved in public engagement - a diverse group of people from a broad range of backgrounds. It is a fantastic opportunity to network, share ideas and good practice.
The theme for the conference will be ‘audiences for engagement’ and can involve experts from other disciplines who have engaged successfully with certain audiences, not necessarily about science.
Conference sessions are generally 60-75 minutes long and run in parallel with between two and five other sessions. This allows for smaller group discussion and better sharing of learning. We wish to encourage a range of formats at the conference. It is more likely that your proposal will be successful if you use a format other than a traditional panel of a certain number of speakers and a chair. We are particularly interested in showcasing activities within the sessions.
If you are interested in submitting a session idea please visit:
www.britishscienceassociation/ScienceCommunicationConference for more information. Here you can view programmes and reports from previous conferences.
Please note that the deadline for submissions is Monday 21 December 2009. If you would like to discuss your idea prior to submission then please contact Alice Taylor-Gee on 020 7019 4940 or email alice.taylor-gee@britishscienceassociation.org.
If you would like to receive updates about the conference then please sign up to our e-lert list by emailing events@britishscienceassociation.org with 'SCC e-lert' in the subject line.
The British Science Association is working in partnership with the Wellcome Trust to organise the 2010 Science Communication Conference. The event will take place from 24-25 May in central London and we are now looking for people and organisations to propose sessions.
The conference addresses the key issues facing science communicators in the UK and each year brings together people who are involved in public engagement - a diverse group of people from a broad range of backgrounds. It is a fantastic opportunity to network, share ideas and good practice.
The theme for the conference will be ‘audiences for engagement’ and can involve experts from other disciplines who have engaged successfully with certain audiences, not necessarily about science.
Conference sessions are generally 60-75 minutes long and run in parallel with between two and five other sessions. This allows for smaller group discussion and better sharing of learning. We wish to encourage a range of formats at the conference. It is more likely that your proposal will be successful if you use a format other than a traditional panel of a certain number of speakers and a chair. We are particularly interested in showcasing activities within the sessions.
If you are interested in submitting a session idea please visit:
www.britishscienceassociation/ScienceCommunicationConference for more information. Here you can view programmes and reports from previous conferences.
Please note that the deadline for submissions is Monday 21 December 2009. If you would like to discuss your idea prior to submission then please contact Alice Taylor-Gee on 020 7019 4940 or email alice.taylor-gee@britishscienceassociation.org.
If you would like to receive updates about the conference then please sign up to our e-lert list by emailing events@britishscienceassociation.org with 'SCC e-lert' in the subject line.
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
PhD programme - "Internationalisation of Literature and Science since the Early Modern Period"
King’s College London / University of Stuttgart
Application deadline: 30/11/2009
The PhD-Net “Internationalisation of Literature and Science since the Early Modern Period” is a bi-national PhD programme run collaboratively by King’s College London and the University of Stuttgart, which aims to forge interdisciplinary connections between various subjects in the Humanities (German Studies, English Studies, Comparative Literature, Philosophy, and the Histories of Medicine, Science and Technology). Partner institutions in Germany include the German Literature Archive in Marbach and the Institute for the History of Medicine of the Robert Bosch Foundation.
An international research group will support and connect projects which address both inter- and trans-national tendencies within the Humanities. Projects will develop both theoretical models for the as yet under-researched area of internationalisation within the Humanities, as well as critically assess historical case studies from the early modern period onwards, which address the role of exchange movements and networks and the transfer of topics, practices and methods in literature and science.
Of particular interest is the relevance of literature(s) for the internationalisation of the sciences, alongside critical reflections on the significance of the presentation and the mediality of knowledge (language, text, image) for its circulation, communication and implementation.
Applicants from all disciplines are welcome to apply to the programme – both those who are already registered as PhD candidates at King’s or Stuttgart, and those who are planning to undertake a PhD at either
institution. Up to 15 PhD students will be supported in England and in Germany each year. Support covers: travel costs, book grants, and assistance in obtaining further PhD funding / reduced fees. Successful candidates not otherwise funded by a full scholarship and who decide to undertake the dual degree will qualify for a grant of 2,000 pounds a year.
The PhD programme lasts three years, and students registered at King’s will spend their second year at the partner university in Stuttgart. The programme is bilingual, and as such some knowledge of German is desirable for English speaking applicants.
All applications received by the 30/11/2009 will be considered.
Applications should include:
- a CV
- a brief project outline (max. 2,000 words) including the topic, thesis, state of research, methods and a plan of work
- a cover letter (max. 600 words) explaining your interest in the programme and the thematic connections between your research project and your previous academic experience
Please address all applications and enquiries to:
Ben Schofield
Department of German
King’s College London
Strand
London UK-WC2R 2LS
benedict.schofield@kcl.ac.uk
Application deadline: 30/11/2009
The PhD-Net “Internationalisation of Literature and Science since the Early Modern Period” is a bi-national PhD programme run collaboratively by King’s College London and the University of Stuttgart, which aims to forge interdisciplinary connections between various subjects in the Humanities (German Studies, English Studies, Comparative Literature, Philosophy, and the Histories of Medicine, Science and Technology). Partner institutions in Germany include the German Literature Archive in Marbach and the Institute for the History of Medicine of the Robert Bosch Foundation.
An international research group will support and connect projects which address both inter- and trans-national tendencies within the Humanities. Projects will develop both theoretical models for the as yet under-researched area of internationalisation within the Humanities, as well as critically assess historical case studies from the early modern period onwards, which address the role of exchange movements and networks and the transfer of topics, practices and methods in literature and science.
Of particular interest is the relevance of literature(s) for the internationalisation of the sciences, alongside critical reflections on the significance of the presentation and the mediality of knowledge (language, text, image) for its circulation, communication and implementation.
Applicants from all disciplines are welcome to apply to the programme – both those who are already registered as PhD candidates at King’s or Stuttgart, and those who are planning to undertake a PhD at either
institution. Up to 15 PhD students will be supported in England and in Germany each year. Support covers: travel costs, book grants, and assistance in obtaining further PhD funding / reduced fees. Successful candidates not otherwise funded by a full scholarship and who decide to undertake the dual degree will qualify for a grant of 2,000 pounds a year.
The PhD programme lasts three years, and students registered at King’s will spend their second year at the partner university in Stuttgart. The programme is bilingual, and as such some knowledge of German is desirable for English speaking applicants.
All applications received by the 30/11/2009 will be considered.
Applications should include:
- a CV
- a brief project outline (max. 2,000 words) including the topic, thesis, state of research, methods and a plan of work
- a cover letter (max. 600 words) explaining your interest in the programme and the thematic connections between your research project and your previous academic experience
Please address all applications and enquiries to:
Ben Schofield
Department of German
King’s College London
Strand
London UK-WC2R 2LS
benedict.schofield@kcl.ac.uk
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