WHAT ARE THE BIG THEMES OF THE HISTORY OF TWENTIETH-CENTURY SCIENCE?
by JON AGAR
About the Speaker
Jon Agar is Professor of Science and Technology Studies at University College London, where he is also Deputy Head of Department and where he teaches a wide range of courses, including, among others, the History of Modern Science; Science, Warfare and Peace, and Governance and the Public. He is, additionally, the Editor of the British Journal for the History of Science (BJAS) and its new companion and open access publication, BJAS Themes. After completing his Bachelors in Mathematics at the University of Cambridge he read for his PhD in the History of Science at the University of Kent. Apart from several papers, he has authored several books; most recently Science in the Twentieth Century and Beyond (2012), where he introduced the provocative notion of ‘the working world’, which will feature prominently in his talk. His research has focused on contemporary technology (for instance, mobile phones and ID cards) and the history of modern science and technology. He has been frequently featured both on the radio and on television discussing the history of science and technology.
Abstract of the Lecture
History of modern science is a burgeoning and exciting field of academic study. There are now many case studies of different branches of science in different places and settings. In this talk, Jon Agar asks what are the big themes that emerge when the field of history of twentieth century science is surveyed? He will discuss the advantages and disadvantages of focussing on histories of particular disciplines or in purely national settings. Drawing on examples from his book, Science in the Twentieth Century and Beyond (2012), Jon Agar will share his main conclusions of this synthetic, historical approach. In particular, he will argue that ‘working worlds’, contexts within which problems are posed and solved, provide a means of understanding the roles played by much science as it developed over the past century, as well as a model that offers insights to the organisation of, and policies for, science today.
As part of India-U.K. collaboration, and in celebration of IISER Pune’s tenth year, the British Council and IISER Pune are organizing lecture tours of eminent scholars who would speak on topics at the interfaces of science with the humanities, arts, and technology.
These lectures, open and free to the public, aim to bring science and related areas closer to the society. The lecture tours of each speaker will take place across six cities in India between October 2015 and March 2016 in this series named Science and Beyond.
Date and Time
January 4, 2016; 5:30 PM
Venue
C.V. Raman Auditorium, IISER Pune
Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) Pune
Dr. Homi Bhabha Road, Pashan, Pune-411008, India; Tel: +91 20 25908001
Website: www.iiserpune.ac.in
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