Events
First Fridays - October
A Grand Opening — Celebrating the Establishment of the Elmer L. Andersen Library
Speaker: Tim Johnson, Curator, Special Collections & Rare Books
During the first week of April 2000 the University community celebrated the opening of Andersen Library as the latest jewel in the University Libraries system. This presentation will recall some of those early days including construction, collection moves into the building, and a series of special events which unveiled Andersen Library and its collections to the public.
About
First Fridays is a series of intellectually stimulating talks presented by the University of Minnesota Libraries’ Department of Archives and Special Collections (ASC) and is made possible by a generous gift from Governor Elmer L. and Mrs. Eleanor Andersen in honor of former University Librarian Dr. Edward B. Stanford.
Fall 2021 Colloquium - Andre Wakefield
Title: "Toxic Anachronism in the History of Science and Technology: The Case of Leibniz"
Abstract: The history of science and technology has long been especially prone to Whiggish anachronism. You might say it’s built into the marrow of our discipline. While the complete elimination of anachronism from our histories may be a fool’s errand, certain forms of anachronism, instantiated in what I have elsewhere called “Disney History,” constitute a problem worth discussing. I will use the case of Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz and his experiments with mining machines in the Harz Mountains, to demonstrate what I mean.
About
Lectures begin at 3:35pm in Rapson Hall 45 on the East Bank of the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities campus. As a reminder, masks are required indoors by University of Minnesota policy.
The Program in History of Science, Technology and Medicine and the Minnesota Center for Philosophy of Science will host a joint lecture series in Fall 2021. At this time, all events will be in-person unless otherwise stated. Please contact hstm@umn.edu for more information.
Fall 2021 Colloquium - Jacob Steere-Williams
A Charles E. Culpeper Lecture in the History of Medicine and HSTM Alumni Lecture
Title: "Carbolic Colonialism: Race, Labor, and Plague in South Africa"
Abstract: This talk examines the entanglements of colonial public health through the history of a singular chemical technology; carbolic acid. Derived from coal tar production in British and German industrial factories, carbolic acid exploded in use from the 1870s after Joseph Lister advocated for aseptic and antiseptic surgeries. By the early twentieth century, carbolic acid and other chemical disinfectants were domesticated as common household tools in the fight against germs. An unexplored history of carbolic acid, however, are the practices—gendered and racialized—whereby carbolic acid became the central and everyday weapon used by colonial public health officers and indigenous laborers in fighting outbreaks of infectious disease. This talk, using the rich archival material derived from anti-plague work in British India and South Africa around 1900, shows how carbolic acid and the practices of disinfection were key sites of scientific knowledge transfer, debate, and contestation, over colonial environments, bodies, and what bodies produce.
About
Lectures begin at 3:35pm in Rapson Hall 45 on the East Bank of the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities campus. As a reminder, masks are required indoors by University of Minnesota policy.
The Program in History of Science, Technology and Medicine and the Minnesota Center for Philosophy of Science will host a joint lecture series in Fall 2021. At this time, all events will be in-person unless otherwise stated. Please contact hstm@umn.edu for more information.
Fall 2021 Colloquium - Benjamin Feintzig
MCPS Lecture
Title: "Why care about quantization"
Abstract: TBD
About
Lectures begin at 3:35pm in Rapson Hall 45 on the East Bank of the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities campus. As a reminder, masks are required indoors by University of Minnesota policy.
The Program in History of Science, Technology and Medicine and the Minnesota Center for Philosophy of Science will host a joint lecture series in Fall 2021. At this time, all events will be in-person unless otherwise stated. Please contact hstm@umn.edu for more information.
Fall 2021 Colloquium - Elizabeth Toon
Title: TBD
Abstract: TBD
First Fridays - November
Title: Two slight taps, the lifting of a baton
Speaker: Kate Dietrick, Archivist, Upper Midwest Jewish Archives
As one of the oldest community orchestras in the country, the Minnesota JCC Symphony Orchestra has long been composed of musicians with day jobs from surgeon to postal carrier. Learn more and celebrate the recent anniversary of this notable musical group based out of the St. Paul Jewish Community Center.
Title: "The Job is Never Done" From the Progressive Era to the Covid Era in the Social Welfare History Archives
Speaker: Linnea Anderson, Archivist, Social Welfare History Archives
Explore unexpected and timely topics from the first collection donated to the Social Welfare History Archives and see the most recent digital collection related to the Covid response in New York City. Learn the famous figures, energetic graphics, and surprising connections with current issues in the records of Survey Associates, a Progressive Era publisher. See items from the Archives' newest digital collections that document how social work organizations responded to the Covid pandemic.
About
First Fridays is a series of intellectually stimulating talks presented by the University of Minnesota Libraries’ Department of Archives and Special Collections (ASC) and is made possible by a generous gift from Governor Elmer L. and Mrs. Eleanor Andersen in honor of former University Librarian Dr. Edward B. Stanford.
Fall 2021 Colloquium - Mackenzie Cooley
Title: "Making Razze: Knowing and Controlling Animal Generation, 1500-1600"
Abstract: TBD
About
Lectures begin at 3:35pm in Rapson Hall 45 on the East Bank of the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities campus. As a reminder, masks are required indoors by University of Minnesota policy.
The Program in History of Science, Technology and Medicine and the Minnesota Center for Philosophy of Science will host a joint lecture series in Fall 2021. At this time, all events will be in-person unless otherwise stated. Please contact hstm@umn.edu for more information.
Fall 2021 Colloquium - Subrena Smith
MCPS Lecture
Title: “What’s to be Gained from an Evolutionary Approach to Behavior?"
Abstract: TBD
About
Lectures begin at 3:35pm in Rapson Hall 45 on the East Bank of the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities campus. As a reminder, masks are required indoors by University of Minnesota policy.
The Program in History of Science, Technology and Medicine and the Minnesota Center for Philosophy of Science will host a joint lecture series in Fall 2021. At this time, all events will be in-person unless otherwise stated. Please contact hstm@umn.edu for more information.
First Fridays - December
Title: Do You Really Want This Stuff?" The Early Years of the Northwest Architectural Archives
Speaker: Al Lathrop and Barb Bezat, Northwest Architectural Archives
To this question, Al replied emphatically, "Yes!" Hear the lighthearted reflections of the two individuals who made it happen.
About
First Fridays is a series of intellectually stimulating talks presented by the University of Minnesota Libraries’ Department of Archives and Special Collections (ASC) and is made possible by a generous gift from Governor Elmer L. and Mrs. Eleanor Andersen in honor of former University Librarian Dr. Edward B. Stanford.
Fall 2021 Colloquium - Ashley Inglehart
Title: “Genesis, Creation, and Generation in Robert Boyle’s Natural Philosophy”
Abstract: TBD
About
Lectures begin at 3:35pm in Rapson Hall 45 on the East Bank of the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities campus. As a reminder, masks are required indoors by University of Minnesota policy.
The Program in History of Science, Technology and Medicine and the Minnesota Center for Philosophy of Science will host a joint lecture series in Fall 2021. At this time, all events will be in-person unless otherwise stated. Please contact hstm@umn.edu for more information.