This is a forwarded message. Please direct replies to Steven A. Walton at
<[log in to unmask]>
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Call for Papers: Scientific Instruments and Warfare
Proposals are invited for contributed papers to sessions on THE ROLE OF
SCIENTIFIC INSTRUMENTS IN WARFARE to be held at the 2002 History of Science
Society (HSS), the 2002 Society for the History of Technology (SHOT), and
the 2003 Society for Military History (SMH) conferences and to be combined
into a published survey volume on the topic.
The goal of these sessions is to investigate the military uses of scientific
instruments, either as distillations of scientific concepts for
paraliterate users or as generative objects for the development of military
sciences and thought. Examples of the former might include objects such as
rangefinders that allow unskilled soldiers to utilize advanced ballistics,
while examples of the latter could include diagnostic instruments which
identify soldiers for certain duties or create types¹ of soldiers. More
broadly, contributors might consider peculiarly military uses of general
scientific instruments, from microscopes, testing machines, or even more
broadly, computers or medical devices. Generally, however, the concept of
scientific instrument should here be understood as a material object or
technology which embodies scientific theory which used in a military setting
in a way that distinguishes it from a civilian setting.
It is hoped that these papers will cover scientific instruments in war from
a wide chronological base (pre-modern to present) and from many different
perspectives (organizational, artifactual, logistical, or perceptual) and
many different disciplines (mathematics, physics, chemistry, acoustics,
biomedical, and so forth). Ultimately, the published volume will seek to do
more than combine narrowly focused investigations of individual objects, and
published contributors will therefore be asked to place their specific
investigation in a wider framework, whether chronological or thematic.
Solicited contributions may be sought to fill gaps so that the published
volume serves as an introduction to the field as well as showcasing
individual important research.
SHOT meets in Toronto 17-20 October 2002
HSS meets in Milwaukee 7-10 November 2002
SMH meets in Knoxville 1-4 May 2003
Further inquiries or paper proposals (for either conference or a chapter in
the published volume) should be directed to:
Steven A. Walton <[log in to unmask]>
MTU-Dept. of Social Sciences Tel. (906) 487-2459
209 Academic Office Bldg. Fax. (906) 487-2468
Houghton, MI 49931
Please include a title, abstract, and brief C.V. Initial inquiries should
be made before Feb. 15 and completed proposals should be sent by March 1 for
the fall conferences, and Sept. 1 for SMH.
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