本會資深委員楊翠華教授於2022年10月3日在家人環繞中離苦得樂,享年68歲。
楊翠華委員是臺灣新竹人,畢業於東海大學與國立政治大學歷史研究所,之後赴美取得紐約州立大學水牛城分校(State University of New York at Buffalo)歷史學博士學位,從事中國地質學史研究。回國後服務於中央研究院近代史研究所,曾兼任近史所圖書館主任、胡適紀念館主任與檔案館主任等,並於國立清華大學、國立政治大學、淡江大學等校教授科學史,開拓發展戰後台灣科技的研究。楊委員於2010年從中央研究院退休,並獲聘為兼任研究員至2017年為止。
楊翠華委員積極參與國內科學史社群的建立,也是本會早期成員, 曾於1993-1999年擔任本會第五屆與第六屆的主任委員,為本會奠定深厚的學術基礎,功不可沒。近年楊委員致力戰後史料的保存與利用,參與數項計畫,惜因肺疾纏身致使其壯志未皆如所願,但楊委員依然繼續參與學術 活動,提攜後進,樂觀面對生死,是學者的典範。
本會對楊委員的早逝至感哀悼,也對其承繼科學史學統,開拓科技研究新境的成就深表敬意。哀此訃告。
History of Science, Technology, and Medicine through the Eyes of the Other
Date: 24th - 25th March 2023
Venue: National Tsing Hua University
Submission deadline: 15th Sep. 2022
Announcement of accepted abstracts: 31th Oct. 2022
The early modern Western missionaries' observations and comments on science, technology and medicine in China and also in other countries of East- and Southeast Asia, as well as the cultural and technological exchanges between East and West achieved through these and other contacts, are relatively well known. These exchanges intensified since the beginning of the Age of Great Discoveries when the missionaries, merchants, ambassadors and explorers left behind numerous records describing local scientific and medical knowledge as well as technological expertise that they explored in East- and Southeast Asia, and, in particular, in China. Through their vision, we can get a glimpse of the contents of Eastern scientific, technological and medical expertise that flourished at that time, and also can analyze Western interpretations of Eastern science, medicine, and technology offered by the outsiders. The observations of Western travelers may allow us to complete some gaps in Oriental documents, and to have a “global” vision of the development of science, technology and medicine by comparing the descriptions provided by the external observers with the writings of Eastern authors.
On the other hand, Chinese and East Asian literati also understood and evaluated extraterritorial scientific, technological and medical knowledge contained in the written documents and oral explanations of the missionaries, monks, businessmen, and diplomats who visited sites of industrial production and authored records and commentaries on science and technology. Writing detailed commentaries on ancient works related to science, technology, and medicine was a long tradition of Chinese (and, more generally, Eastern) literati. For example, the commentary of Liu Hui 劉徽 (fl. 263) on the Computational procedures of Nine categories (Jiuzhang suanshu 九章算術) was discussed by Li Chunfeng 李淳風 (602-670) who wrote a subcommentary to the treatise; in his work he also mentioned the annotations left by the outstanding Chinese mathematician and astronomer Zu Chongzhi 祖沖之 (429-500) and his son Zu Gengzhi 祖暅之 who discussed certain infinitesimal procedures described by Liu Hui. In turn, the outstanding polymath Shen Kuo 沈括 (ca 1030-1095) in his Brush discussions of the Dream Creek (Mengxi bitan 夢溪筆談) delivered explanations on natural phenomena and manufacturing technology as well as critical remarks on other authors; Xu Guangqi 徐光啓 (1562-1633) gathered a great number of agricultural treatises in his Nongzheng quanshu 農政全書 (Comprehensive Treatise on Agricultural Administration), in which he provided his appreciation and criticism of these works.
It is well known that circulation of knowledge and skills played an important role in the development of science, technology, and medicine. However, the way in which scientific, technological and medical expertise was observed, (mis)understood, and, in some cases, appropriated were not the same in different time periods and in different cultural and intellectual environments. The new, “foreign” knowledge and skills were often introduced not only through their textual description and appropriation of their theoretical foundations but also via objects or their descriptions that in some cases were considerably reinterpreted before they became fully appropriated by another culture. These processes of transmission, translation, interpretation and appropriation appear to be extremely interesting; their analysis is certainly vital for our understanding of the development of science, technology and medicine in East and Southeast Asia.
The Organizers expect that the participants of the Workshop will focus on the following questions:
How the scientific, technological, and medical expertise was seen, interpreted, (mis)understood, evaluated and,
sometimes, criticized by representatives of another culture? How, for example, Western astronomy was understood
by Chinese scholars of the Qing dynasty, or how traditional Chinese medicine was interpreted by Western scholars?
How scientific and technological theories and practices were seen and understood within the same country, in East
or West, by individuals belonging to different social strata, professional communities, and geographical areas?
It is certain that there are numerous other questions related to the mentioned processes, and all the papers that may help further understand the evolution and development of science,technology and medicine in East- and Southeast Asia will be highly appreciated.
The Organizers of the Workshop invite all academics (including Master and PhD students) interested in participation in the Workshop to send their short curricula vitae (no more than 500 words) and abstracts (no less than half-page and no longer than one page, double-spaced, 12 pts Times New Roman), in MS Word and pdf formats, including the name(s) and affiliation(s) of the author(s), the title of the paper, and a short list of keywords to the email address: a606.histoire.nthu@gmail.com. The deadline for sending the abstracts is September 15, 2022. The abstracts will be considered by the Organizers of the Workshop and the results will be communicated to the accepted participants on or before October 31, 2022.
Archaeology, History, Culture, Languages and Religions on the Silk Roads
2022 December 1-3
National Tsing Hua University
New deadline for receipt of abstracts: July 15, 2022
Notification of acceptance: August 30, 2022
The College of Humanities (HSS) of National Tsing Hua University, Taiwan, will organize its first International Conference on Silk Road Studies in December 2022. The conference covers all aspects of the history of the pre-modern Silk Roads, which ranged from East Asia to Europe and to the East Coast of Africa. All scholars and students carrying out research on the archaeology, history, culture, languages, or religions on the Silk Roads are cordially invited to submit an abstract for this conference. Due to the possibly continuing travel restrictions the conference will be held in a hybrid form to allow all speakers to participate. The essential information regarding the conference can be found below:
Date and venue: The conference will be held at the College of Humanities (HSS) of National Tsing Hua University, Hsinchu, from Thursday, December 1 to Saturday, December 3, 2022.
The online venue will be announced in due time and a link will be sent to all participants of the conference.
Call for abstracts:
a) Abstracts in English, or Chinese are invited for 30-minutes presentations and for posters on all aspects of Silk
Road Studies, including archaeology, history, culture, religion, and language.
b) To facilitate the reviewing process, please identify in a few keywords below the abstract the primary domain of
your research (e.g. archaeology, history, culture, religion, language, art, murals, paintings, temples, Chinese,
Sogdian, Tocharian, Uighur, Sanskrit, Buddhism, Manichaeism, Dunhuang, Turfan, manuscripts, collections,
etc.)
c) Abstracts must be on a single A4 page, single spaced, 12-point type (or ‘small 4’ for Chinese), with one inch
(2.5cm) margins (top, bottom, sides).
Please send two copies of the abstract as attachments by e-mail, one of which should have the name of author(s), affiliation(s), and e-mail address as a Word document; the other one (for anonymous review), identified by title only, as a pdf document to the following address: silkroad2022.nthu@gmail.com
Organizers of the Conference::
The responsible organizers of the conference are:
CHEN Shufen 陳淑芬
MAU Chuan-Hui 毛傳慧
Barbara Meisterernst 梅思德
Alexei VOLKOV 琅元
[ISHEASTM]2023 DHST Dissertation Prize – Call for Applications
The International Union of the History and Philosophy of Science and
Technology, Division of History of Science and Technology (IUHPST/DHST),
is happy to invite submissions to its seventh DHST Dissertation prize,
awarding promising young scholars in the broad field of the history of
science and technology.
Initiated at the 22nd International Congress of History of Science
in 2005 held in Beijing, IUHPST/DHST now awards the prize every two years.
Up to three awards for recent Ph.D. historians of science and technology
will recognize outstanding doctoral dissertations completed and filed
between 1 September 2020 and 1 September 2022.
The Prize does not specify distinct categories, but submissions must
be on the history of science, technology, or medicine. The Award Committee
endeavors to maintain the broadest coverage of subjects, geographical areas,
chronology and civilizations (African, North American, South American, Asian,
Islamic, Western and Ancient Civilizations, and others not included in this list).
Prizes consist of a certificate, waiver of registration fees, assistance
with travel and accommodation expenditures to the 27th DHST Congress at the
University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand, in 2025. The winner of a prize whose
dissertation engages substantially with Islamic science and culture (over
competitions seven (2020-2022) and eight (2022-2024), is also awarded the İhsanoğlu
Prize funded by the Turkish Society of History of Science.”
AWARD COMMITTEE: The Award Committee includes DHST Council members and
distinguished subject specialists.
COMPETITION CALENDAR: Applications open 10 July 2022 and close 1 October 2022
(22:00, GMT). Announcement of prize winners for the seventh competition in
early 2023.An award ceremony for winners of competition 7 and 8 is planned at
the 27th International Congress of History of Science and Technology to take
place in Dunedin, New Zealand in 2025.
APPLICATION PROCEDURE:
In order to apply, the following pdf documents should be sent by mail to
DHST president Marcos Cueto (marcos.cueto@fiocruz.br):
– the dissertation. Submissions in any language are welcome.
– a summary of the dissertation in English (maximum 20 double-spaced pages)
Call for entries: IUHPST Essay Prize in History and Philosophy of Science
Submission deadline: 15 January 2021
The International Union of History and Philosophy of Science and
Technology (IUHPST) invites submissions for the 2021 IUHPST Essay Prize
in History and Philosophy of Science. This biennial prize competition
seeks to encourage fresh methodological thinking on the history and
philosophy of science and related areas.
Entries in the form of an essay of 5,000–10,000 words in English are
invited, addressing this year’s prize question: “What can history
and philosophy of science, technology and medicine contribute to our
current global challenges?” What constitutes a current global
challenge is left to the judgment of the authors, but examples include
the coronavirus pandemic, climate change, socioeconomic inequality,
racism, the refugee crisis, and science denialism.
All entries should consist of original work that has not previously been
published. Entries written originally in another language should be
submitted in English translation, along with the name and contact
details of the translator. Entries will be judged on the following
criteria, in addition to general academic quality: direct engagement
with the prize question, effective integration of historical and
philosophical perspectives, and potential to provide methodological
guidance for other researchers in the field.
The author of the winning entry will be invited to present the work at
the 26th International Congress of History of Science and Technology
(ICHST), 25–31 July 2021, which will be held as an online event.
Presenting at the Congress will be a condition of the award.
The award will carry a cash prize of 1,000 US dollars and a waiver of
the Congress registration fee.
Other strong entries will also be considered for presentation at the
Congress. In order to ensure this consideration, entrants should submit
the entry also as a standalone paper abstract for the Congress by the
deadline for that, following the standard instructions indicated on the
Congress website: https://www.ichst2021.org/call-for-stand-alone-abstracts/ (extended
deadline 10 January 2021).
Entries are invited from anyone, without restriction of age, nationality
or academic status. Co-authored work will be considered; if the winning
entry is a co-authored work the cash prize will be shared out among the
authors.
This prize is administered by the Joint Commission of the IUHPST, whose
remit is to make links between the work of the two Divisions of the
IUHPST: the DHST (Division of History of Science and Technology) and the
DLMPST (Division of Logic, Methodology and Philosophy of Science and
Technology). For further information about IUHPST, see: http://iuhps.net
Entries for the prize competition should be submitted in pdf format by
e-mail to the Chair of the Joint Commission, Prof. Hasok Chang,
Department of History and Philosophy of Science, University of Cambridge
(hc372@cam.ac.uk). Any queries should also be directed to him. The
deadline for submission is 15 January 2021.
李學勇委員於本月20日去世,將於2020年6月9日(週二)假臺北市第二殯儀館景仰樓三樓舉行祭奠,上午11:30公祭。
李學勇教授,民國十二年生,河南開封人。1946年畢業於中央大學園藝系,當時臺灣光復伊始,亟需人才,李教授於同年抵臺,在農林處、林業試驗試所工作。1947年4月轉任臺大園藝系助教。1948年底往桃園農校任教。1956-1962年任臺灣糖業研究所副研究員,走上學術之路。1963年起任教臺大植物系,直至退休。1971-1972年赴美進修,獲愛達荷大學科學碩士學位。1960年代末至1970年代初,曾追隨臺灣生物學史先驅于景讓教授,從事植物學史研究,於名物考辨多有創獲。
李教授著有《園藝育種學》、《普通植物學》、《植物學要義》、《基礎植物學》,譯著有《族群遺傳學與生物演化》、《詳註語譯天演論新譯》等。退休後仍譯著不輟,1980年代末應中華文化復興運動委員會之邀,參與「中國之科技與文明」翻譯工作,先譯成《中國農業史》(上下兩冊)(原書為李約瑟與白馥蘭撰,Science and Civilisation in China Vol.6, part II, Agriculture 2 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1984),又賈其餘勇,以古稀之年譯成《中國植物學史》(原書為李約瑟、魯桂珍、Huang H-T撰,Science and Civilisation in China Vol.6, part I, Botany (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1986)。嗣因「中國之科技與文明」中譯計畫終止,《中國植物學史》譯稿退還李教授。百般無奈,只好將譯稿裝訂成八大冊,置於臺大圖書館,供需要者參閱。至2017年,由中華科技史學會理事長邱韻如教授玉成,《中國植物學史》由該會編輯出版,以饗學界。
The 12th Conference on the History of Science: Science, Technology and Medicine in Cross-cultural History
Date: 21th - 23th May 2020
Venue: National Tsing Hua University
Submission deadline: 30th Nov. 2019
Result announcement: 31th Dec. 2019
As one of the most important aspects of the history of civilization, the studies on the history of science, technology and medicine draw more and more attention of scholars. The research on the history of science extends gradually from the studies of the progress of science, technology, medical knowledge and skills towards discussions of the interaction between government, society, and the social structures in which the scientific knowledge, technical skills and medical expertise are preserved and transmitted.
The excavations conducted in certain sites in Central Asia since the late 19th century unveiled evidence of exchanges of scientific knowledge as well as technical and medical expertise among the inhabitants of the Eurasian continent that started as early as several thousand years ago. These exchanges were often related to migration processes as well as to bartering, or even plundering of individuals and goods during wars. The scientific knowledge involved was referred to by some scholars as “proto-science”, to distinguishing it from modern science and technology. Regarding the history of transmission of science and technology, the active exchanges between the West and China that started by the Jesuit missionary Matteo Ricci (1552-1610) is one of the topics most often explored by modern scholars. The interest of the late Ming dynasty (1368-1644) and early Qing dynasty (1644-1911) elites in European sciences and technology, and, in particular, in cartography, built the path leading Ricci to approach Chinese literati that in turn resulted in the introduction of Western sciences into China. Reciprocally, Chinese knowledge and skills were transmitted to Europe through the same channel, i.e., reports of Jesuit scholars working in China. At the end of the 17th century, following the sending of the “King's mathematicians” by the French King Louis XIV, the cultural and scientific exchanges between China and Europe reached its apogee, that one can call the “golden age” of Sino-European exchanges. In the 19th century the signing of multiples trade treaties by Manchu court with Western countries, in particular, Great Britain, United States, and France, among others, reinforced the exchanges in numerous fields and resulted in even more active introduction of Western sciences, technology and medicine to China. The defeats of China in a series of wars waged during the second half of the 19th century, especially the wars against Russia and Japan, increased the dependence of China on Western sciences.
The exchanges of scientific knowledge as well as technological and medical skills had started much earlier than the second half of the second millennium. One can argue that they existed among multiple cultures uninterruptedly for several thousand years. Under these circumstances, one can wonder how it would be possible to identify a given scientific tradition as “Chinese”, or “European”, or “East Asian”, or “Islamic”, as they are often referred to by historians? In other words, one can claim that the question of cultural “identity” of scientific traditions remains one of the main concerns of historians. Furthermore, one can be interested in questions concerning the way in which the foreign sciences had been accepted and assimilated by local scholars, that is, in the ways in which these sciences were “localized”. While the missionaries and travelling monks often played a role of “brokers” in the circulation of science and technology at early stages, some historians noticed the importance of merchants, translators, soldiers, and diplomats in the exchanges. The objects of trade may as well have been providing information, and, above all, books have been rightly considered the main vehicle of transmission of knowledge and attracted attentions of a great number of historians who focused on books that were written, translated, read and understood for the purpose of transmission of scientific, technological and medical expertise.
While the books were rightly considered “knowledge containers” and drew attention of historians, it appears that the role that the educational systems played in the traditional societies for formation and transmission of scientific knowledge as well as technological and medical expertise was sometimes underestimated. This explains why in the recent years a growing number of scholars paid special attention to the role and functions of the educational institutions in the formation and transmission of scientific knowledge and of technical and medical expertise.
The main scope of the announced conference thus resides in the history of development and the evolution of science, technology and medicine in the context of the contacts and sometimes collisions of different cultures; the organizers are interested in exploration of the cases involving various regions, peoples, countries, as well as various fields of science and technology, considered in their interaction with states, societies and various social structures, and studied in large political, economical and cultural contexts. Discussions of newly found materials (texts, objects, images) and studies done from new perspective would be helpful for conceiving more refined and diversified methodological approaches, that eventually could lead to new and interesting results in the studies of the history of science, technology, and medicine.
Scholars working on the history of science, technology and medicine are invited to present the results of their studies on the topics related to the theme of the conference. Please send a title, an abstract of your paper (not exceeding 300 words) and a brief version of your CV (no more than 250 words) to 2019CHSAS@gmail.com by November 30, 2019. The results of your application will be announced by December 31, 2019.
International Symposium Technique and Religion: Technical Cultures, Beliefs, Circulations from Antiquity until Today Paris, 14th-15th September 2020 Call for paper (30th November 2019)
The purpose of this symposium is to offer the opportunity and the place to conduct a reflection on the relationship between technique and religion. Until recently, the history of social sciences has reserved a relatively marginal place to technique as a sphere of human activity, instead taking as objects of study areas where the coherence of a collective consciousness is manifest, notably religious practice. A separation was drawn between the primacy that then-emerging sociology granted to the religious fact as a basic social phenomenon (Emile Durkheim) on the one hand, and instrumental practices, which were therefore limited to the infra-social domain of individual organic subsistence, on the other hand. Technique and religion, two fundamental forms of discovery and of constitution of experience, have thus, in the social sciences, given rise to divergent “interests of knowledge” that historically account for the selection and formulation of objects of knowledge. Yet history of techniques and history of religion have never ceased to interact, often in a conflicting manner.
Interferences between techniques and religions belong, on one side, to the history of thought, of dogmas and of their interpretations. On the one hand, for instance stands Alfred Espinas’s model, i.e. the progressive secularization of techniques, which he believed marked the discontinuity between the archaic and classical periods. According to this scheme, the “physico-theological” period, which stretches from the 8th to the 5th century BC, was characterized by the influence of the religious feeling upon artisan action. Techniques were conceived as divine gifts and their transmission was exclusively based on imitation and tradition. The period of the organon, which extends from the 5th to the 4th century BC, is characterized by the increasing differentiation of professions and the secularization of practices. This model, which is based on a questionable use of sources, was endorsed by Jean-Pierre Vernant. Yet the time has come to problematize and discuss it. Another example is the movement of secularization of religions and desacralization of nature, associated with monotheisms, themselves perceived as levers of knowledge, of exploitation of nature and, possibly, of the pursuit of profit, since the Middle Ages or the Reformation, according to the authors. Technique is tightly interwoven into these rationales, but it has also been disconnected from them. As early as in the 19th century onwards, the cult of progress and industry --which has been studied thoroughly and has been renewed-- paved the way for a secularized eschatology that some thinkers at the turn of the 20th century could magnify for their hope in the advent of socialism and of a society emancipated by labour. Critical and distanced analyses elaborated in the 20th century, whether by Lynn White, David Noble or Pierre Musso, highlight the dogmatic value of the sacralization of progress and its blinding effect. These approaches are currently subject to several types of questioning. How does the philosophy of techniques analyse these shifting movements between religion and technique? Should we follow Gilbert Simondon and his definition of universalism, as a shared “primitive” reality, technique being “even more primitive than religion”, because of its original, consubstantial relationship with life? What about anthropologists? Another set of questions address the current uses of the theoretical analyses of the link between technology and religion. The “Needham question” made religion a key argument to explain China’s so-called decline from the Song dynasty onwards. This theme, as well as techniques more broadly, is absent from Kenneth Pomeranz’s demonstration but it has been raised afresh by historians concerned with broadening the scope of the analysis of the Great Divergence. Which has ignited debates. Should macro-historical perspectives and generalizations be adopted to analyse interferences between technology and religion? Should we compare religious systems, cosmogonies or even temporal constructions on a global scale? Finally, what is meant by religion and by technique? Should we not, instead, evoke cosmogonies, representations of the universe, of its construction and harmony, and should we not disconnect the techniques from an economic (economist) perspective that associates them with the search for competitive advantages and profit, notions quite alien to the expectations placed in “effective action” in many a civilization?
This leads us to a second part of the reflection: the interferences between techniques and religion in the worlds of practice. The material dimension of techniques in religions is at the heart of much recent research which, far from adopting a level of generality as it often used to, adopts an anthropological and ethnological point of view (rituals, magic, ceremonies, conventual craft, etc.). Whilst the religious universe is often considered in the light of spirituality alone -- that as the case for example for European scholars after the Reformation -- many studies highlight the spirituality of techniques on the one hand, and, on the other hand, the importance of objects, gestures, techniques and even their codification in religious practice. These relationships also entail the production of images and performances (see early modern Christianity). Technical artefacts can represent religious ideas and, conversely, religious imagery can represent techniques and instruments. They differ from the great narratives and theorizations for they tap into other sources. What are the archives, objects, images for this material history of religions and techniques? What conceptual tools and methods of analysis are employed to conduct this study at the crossroads of the history of techniques and of the social sciences? Can these approaches renew generalizations on a global scale, through a localized analysis as it appears to be the case for Buddhist temples in China? Can they also allow for a reframing of the question of cosmogonies in a more concrete way? In this sense, what place should be given to magic and according to which definitions, if any comparative perspective should be implemented? Finally, intercultural circulation of rituals and artefacts, dynamics of borrowing and interactions between religious and technical circulations should also be tackled. The theme is vast and also questions the relationship of religious communities to techniques, be they their traditional assignments (including the negation of the relationship to techniques), their questioning, the community claims made by means of techniques, or the role of brokers, such as Jesuits (and their converts), in Asia and South America, and many other less visible intermediaries, who are beginning to be identified.
To answer these research questions, there is no restriction to one specific religion, territory or period. On the contrary, religions and cultural areas will be mobilized in their diversity in order to promote an inclusive conceptualization of the relationships between techniques and religions. Special attention will be also paid to developments and circulations at work across time and space. It will be the contributors’ task to define the frameworks and limits of these relationships, while highlighting the specific characteristics of the religions, spirituality, or techniques investigated, in order to foster collective reflection on these interactions and not to impose an a priori conception of their nature or forms. Finally, even though the symposium is based on a historical approach, this call is open to papers from various disciplines (anthropology, ethnology, sociology, philosophy, geography, economics).
Proposals should be submitted by the 30th of November 2019 to: liliane.perez@wanadoo.fr It is required to join: the title of the paper, an abstract and a CV. Languages: English and French.
Executive committee: Guillaume Carnino (Univ. of Technology, Compiègne/COSTECH), Liliane Hilaire-Pérez (Univ. of Paris/ICT-EHESS-CAK/IUF), Leopoldo Iribarren (EHESS/ANHIMA), Chuan-Hui Mau (Univ. Tsing Hua, Taïwan/ICT), Evelyne Oliel-Grausz (Univ. Paris1/IHMC), Sébastien Pautet (Univ. of Paris/ICT)
Scientific committee: Alain Arrault (EFEO), Gianenrico Bernasconi (Univ. of Neuchâtel), Cléo Carastro (EHESS/ANHIMA), Charlotte de Castelnau (Univ. of Paris/ICT), Philip Cho (Yonsei University, Underwood International College), Ludovic Coupaye (University College, Londres), Karel Davids (Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam), Pierre-Antoine Fabre (EHESS/CeSoR), Hélène Joubert (Direction of collections for Africa, Museum of Quai Branly-Jacques Chirac), Pierre Musso (Univ. of Rennes/LAS), Perig Pitrou (CNRS/LAS), Patrick O’Brien (LSE), Olivier Raveux (CNRS/TELEMME), Catherine Verna (Univ. Paris 8/ARSCAN).
本會今年特別感謝林聰益主委的奔走,以及南臺科技大學機械工程系、南臺科技大學古機械研究中心、義守大學通識教育中心、張昭鼎紀念基金會,和中華古機械文教基金會的大力支持,於3月26-27日間在南臺科技大學國際會議廳成功的舉辦「第十一屆科學史研討會」。會後論文集的徵集編纂也如火如荼地開展,屆時其豐富的內容也會與各位讀者共享。
本期通訊共有了三篇專論,分別為國立故宮博物院登錄保存處的沈建東助理研究員所撰寫的〈最早的量規?試析金壇三星村馬家濱文化遺址出土的一組板狀刻紋骨器〉,及由臺北市和平高中數學教師黃俊瑋所撰寫的〈和算家如何核證數學知識與獲得問題的答案:一個HPM的觀點與反思〉,和中原大學通識中心歷史組副教授皮國立帶來的〈性慾與健康:民國時期中西醫「節慾」之身體論述〉。這三篇文章分具特色,第一篇文章考察了出土文物與數學史中古度測量系統的關聯性,第二篇則由十八世紀的和算家建部賢弘著手,探討其方法論與數學實作,讓讀者了解十八世紀和算家有別於西方數理體系核證數學知識的脈絡與獲得問題答案的方法。最後一篇則是透過民國時期中西醫對「節慾」觀的異同,展現不同醫學體系的身體觀在近代的匯通。這三篇文章皆具體呈現了科學史領域中知識體系的解構和傳統史料爬梳兩種重要的取徑。
而在學術劄記欄目中,陳大川委員於〈蔡倫造紙之敝布或包含葛布說〉中推斷,葛布較麻布廉宜,可能是蔡倫造紙所用的紙料;張之傑委員以《伊本‧巴杜達遊記》與《聊齋》之間類似的一則「魔術師的故事」為引,為讀者說明其中戲法的奧秘與科學的關聯性。
此外,今年國際科學史與科學哲學會在巴西舉辦了第二十五屆國際科學史大會,由我和執行秘書周維強博士一同前往,為使本會委員對於此會有一概括性的瞭解,謹將會議過程進行簡要的報告。
除了工坊以外,我們還舉行了一次專題演講,由任教於國立交通大學通識教育中心的博佳佳(Charlotte-V. Pollet)老師講述Li Ye and the Way of Mathematics: Did the Way Extend to India?。博教授曾獲法國外交部頒發「海外優良教師」,致力於研究中國及印度的數學史,多次於國內外國際研討會發表論文,是臺灣精通古文及古梵語數學的譯者及研究學者。
《科學史通訊》編輯委會稿約與委員會成員也進行了部分異動,詳細內容已載於會議紀錄並寄發。本刊也特別感謝孫承晟博士協助提供大陸地區科學史博碩士論文摘要;編輯部並報導近期博物館的科學史相關展覽,一併提供科史同好參考。希望能促進國內科學史研究的深化,並吸引更多年輕學者投入科史研究和教育普及的推廣。
講者介紹:博佳佳(Charlotte-V. Pollet)任教於國立交通大學通識教育中心,致力於研究中國及印度的數學史, 為精通古文及古梵語數學譯者的學者。
講 題:Li Ye and the Way of Mathematics: Did the Way Extend to India?
時 間:9月30日(週六)下午16:00-17:00
地 點:中央研究院人文社會科學館遠距會議室
張嘉鳳教授係英國亞非學院歷史博士,現職國立臺灣大學歷史學系教授,為學界研究中國科技史、醫學史之重要學者。目前參與國際研究與學術期刊編輯,包括德國紐倫堡.愛爾朗根大學 (Friedrich-Alexander-University of Erlangen-Nuremberg) 國際人文研究計畫「命運、自由與預兆:東亞與歐洲處理未來的策略」(Fate, Freedom, and Prognostication: Strategies for Coping with the Future in East Asia and Europe)國際顧問。在學術期刊編輯方面,則包括East Asian Science, Technology, and Medicine (《東亞科學技術與醫學》)國際期刊編輯委員、《中國科技史雜誌》海外編輯委員、《自然科學史研究》海外編輯委員,以上三種是國際學界有關東亞與中國科技史、醫學史研究最重要的專業研究期刊。張教授也是本次本館策畫系列講座的諮詢顧問,對於講者邀請與議題策畫貢獻良多,近年來也為本館策畫、撰寫「天機:館藏天文曆法古籍文獻展」(2009年)、「靈樞良方: 國家圖書館藏中醫藥古籍展」(2010年)。
洪萬生教授,國立臺灣師範大學數學系退休教授。國立臺灣師範大學數學系學士、碩士畢業,主修純數學。1991年美國紐約城市大學科學史博士(City University of New York)博士。曾任臺師大數學系教授兼主任、 臺灣數學教育學會理事長、國際科學史學院通訊會員、Historia Mathematica(國際數學史雜誌)編輯委員、《HPM通訊》發行人、台灣數學(虛擬)博物館創始人之一。曾撰寫或主編《孔子與數學》、《摺摺稱奇:初登大雅之堂的摺紙數學》、《數說新語》等多種科普著作,並擔任《畢氏定理四千年》、《數學女孩:伽羅瓦理論》、《畢氏定理四千年》等多種科普書籍之審訂。
Dear Colleagues, This is the announcement of the 2015 -2019 board directors, who will take office during the general assembly at the 14th ICHSEA in Paris. Their short biographic sketches can be found in the attachment.(附件檔案) Let us welcome the new board members. Their vision and expertise will continue to bring success to the Society.
Respectively
Jeff Chen
Secretary, 2011-2015
President: Marta HANSON, Associate Professor, Department of the History of Medicine,
Johns Hopkins University. Vice President: Alexei VOLKOV, Associate Professor at National Tsing-Hua University, Hsinchu, Taiwan. Secretary: Jiří HUDEČEK, Research Fellow at Chiang Ching-Kuo International Sinological Centre,
Charles University, Prague. Treasurer: Florence BRETELLE-ESTABLET, Researcher, SPHERE team
(UMR 7219, CNRS & Université Paris Diderot).
PhD position in Non-European and Global History (4 years, full time, i.e. 30 hours), focus Asian Maritime History
Start: 01.10.2015 / End: 30.09.2019
Duties and functions:
Scientific support in research and teaching in the field of Non-European and Global History; administrative functions, independent research including the writing of a PhD; after the 3rd year of employment 2 hours of teaching are required. Participation in the research project "The East Asian Mediterranean - The Indian Ocean World: The Making of the First Global Economy in the Context of Human-Environment Interaction" is required (cf.).
The successful candidate should possess a historical focus in the fields of inter-cultural relations, commercial, science and knowledge transfer, or inter-cultural environmental, technological or economic history of China between c. 500 and 1500.
Applications from candidates with a focus on the maritime history of China, Sino-Islamic relations, aspects of historical interaction between China and the Indian Ocean or Asia-Pacific worlds are especially welcome. The scholarship provides an opportunity to work in international and interdisciplinary network of scholars working on global history.
Required degree and qualification:
Diplom or Master degree in Global History or a comparable degree, best in sinolgy or East Asian Studies,with a focus on Global History. In addition, a very good command of modern and traditional Chinese is required.
The successful candidate should be open for new methodological approaches including the combination of textual and archaeological sources, possesses a strong knowledge of classical Chinese and at least one other language related to the topic of his/her research. Experience in the analysis of historical inscriptions (such as tomb inscriptions) would be helpful. Working language will be English and/or German.
Capacity for teamwork required.
Salary: EUR 1,997,40 gros monthly (14 (!) monthly payments annually; the exact sum may be higher depending on the individual situation of the applicant)
Applications should be addressed to the rector of Salzburg University, Univ.-Prof. Dr. Heinrich Schmidinger, and be sent in written form, indicating the number of vacancy (GZ A 0038/1-2015) with usual documents, cv, photo to the Serviceeinrichtung Personal, Kapitelgasse 4, 5020 Salzburg, Austria, and those in English additionally electronically via e-mail to E-mail:Angela.Schottenhammer@sbg.ac.at
Dear Colleagues, This is the announcement of the 2015 -2019 board directors, who will take office during the general assembly at the 14th ICHSEA in Paris. Their short biographic sketches can be found in the attachment.(附件檔案) Let us welcome the new board members. Their vision and expertise will continue to bring success to the Society.
Respectively
Jeff Chen
Secretary, 2011-2015
President: Marta HANSON, Associate Professor, Department of the History of Medicine,
Johns Hopkins University. Vice President: Alexei VOLKOV, Associate Professor at National Tsing-Hua University, Hsinchu, Taiwan. Secretary: Jiří HUDEČEK, Research Fellow at Chiang Ching-Kuo International Sinological Centre,
Charles University, Prague. Treasurer: Florence BRETELLE-ESTABLET, Researcher, SPHERE team
(UMR 7219, CNRS & Université Paris Diderot).
INTERNATIONAL UNION OF THE HISTORY AND PHILOSOPHY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY/DIVISION OF HISTORY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY (IUHPST/DHST)
SCHEME
The International Union of the History and Philosophy of Science and Technology, Division of History of Science and Technology (IUHPST/DHST) invites submissions for the fourth DHST Prize for Young Scholars, to be presented in 2017. Initiated at the 22nd International Congress of History of Science in 2005 held in Beijing, the DHST Prize is awarded by the IUHPST/DHST every four years to up to five young historians of science and technology for outstanding doctoral dissertations, completed within last four years.
The 2017 DHST Prize does not specify distinct categories, but submissions must be on the history of science or technology in any part of the world. The Award Committee will endeavor to maintain the broadest coverage of subjects, geographical areas, chronology and civilizations (African, American, Asian, Islamic, Western and Ancient Civilisations, and others not included in the above list).
Each Prize consists of a certificate, assistance with travel and accommodation expenditures to the IUHPST/DHST Congress in Rio de Janeiro in August 2017 and a waiver of registration fee. The winner of a prize whose thesis is relative to Islamic science is also awarded the Ihsanoglu Prize given by ISAR Foundation.
AWARD COMMITTEE
The Committee is comprised of the DHST President, Vice-Presidents, Secretary General, and distinguished specialists in specific fields.
COMPETITION CALENDAR
Submission deadline: 31 August 2016
Qualification examination and preliminary selection: September 2016
Award Committee online meeting: October-November 2016
Approval by DHST Council: December 2016
Award Ceremony: August 2017
CONDITIONS and APPLICATION
Eligibility: Applicants must have a doctoral degree in the history of science or technology awarded no earlier than July 2012.
Language: Any dissertation in a language other than English must be accompanied by a detailed summary in English of no more than 20 pages.
Application procedure: Applicants must submit online at: http://hpdst.gr/youngscholarsprize, where they can also find additional procedural details.
The Soon-Young Kim Award in the History of East Asian Science and Technology
The Trustees of the Needham Research Institute invite applications from suitably qualified candidates for a Soon-Young Kim Award in the History of East Asian Science and Technology. The Award will be tenable from October 2014.
The Award may be held in either of two modes:
(a) A one-year post-doctoral research fellowship.
(b) The first year of a studentship to support research for the degree of PhD in the University of Cambridge, with the potential for renewal year by year thereafter.
Applicants must specify clearly under which mode they wish to hold the Award when making their application. Applications should be made by email, using the application form available here.
第24屆國際科學史會議 (24th International Congress of History of Science, Technology
and Medicine) 將於2013年7月22日至27日在英國曼徹斯特大學舉行,有關會議相關訊息請,參考大會網址:www.ichstm2013.com。
十三屆國際東亞科學史會議(The 13th International Conference on the History of Science in East Asia)將於2011年7月25-29在中國科學技術大學(合肥)舉行,會議網址如下:http://www.ichsea-eastm.org/