- Members - lists.sigcis.org

What tale do we tell, and why do we tell it the way we do?
by Doron Swade 07 Dec '23

07 Dec '23

Dear All I thought I would flag the publication, a year ago, of The History of Computing: A Very Short Introduction. 'Very Short' means not exceeding 35,000 words, which is an absolute upper limit for the OUP VSI series. I wrote the book in answer to two questions: when it comes to the history of computing, what tale do we tell, and why do we tell it the way we do? My purpose was to present, in an accessible way, the narrative of computing's history for those with little or no prior knowledge of the field and, in so doing, describe what it is that historians of computing do and the issues that preoccupy them. Publisher's Links: US: <https://global.oup.com/academic/product/the-history-of-computing-a-very-sho rt-introduction-9780198831754?cc=us&lang=en&> https://global.oup.com/academic/product/the-history-of-computing-a-very-shor t-introduction-9780198831754?cc=us&lang=en&# UK: <https://global.oup.com/academic/product/the-history-of-computing-a-very-sho rt-introduction-9780198831754?q=978-0-19-883175-4&cc=gb&lang=en> https://global.oup.com/academic/product/the-history-of-computing-a-very-shor t-introduction-9780198831754?q=978-0-19-883175-4&cc=gb&lang=en Book Abstract This book describes the central events, machines, and people in the history of computing, and traces how innovation has brought us from pebbles used for counting, to the modern age of the computer. It has a strong historiographical theme that offers a new perspective on how to understand the historical narratives we have constructed, and examines the unspoken assumptions that underpin them. It describes inventions, pioneers, milestone systems, and the context of their use. It starts with counting, and traces change through calculating aids, mechanical calculation, and automatic electronic computation, both digital and analogue. It shows how four threads-calculation, automatic computing, information management, and communications-converged to create the 'information age'. It examines three master narratives in established histories that are used as aids to marshal otherwise unmanageable levels detail. The treatment is rooted in the principal episodes that make up canonical histories of computing. Citation: Swade, Doron. The History of Computing: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford University Press, 2022. All best Doron

2 1

Fw: SHOT e-Newsletter #5, December 2023
by Elizabeth Petrick 05 Dec '23

05 Dec '23

Hi everyone, Lengthy update from SHOT below. Best, Liz ------------- Elizabeth Petrick Co-Director, STS Program Associate Professor Department of History Rice University http://elizabethpetrick.com/ ________________________________ From: Society for the History of Technology <shot.secretariat(a)tue.nl> Sent: Monday, December 4, 2023 3:14 PM To: Elizabeth Petrick <Elizabeth.Petrick(a)rice.edu> Subject: SHOT e-Newsletter #5, December 2023 [https://r20.rs6.net/on.jsp?ca=9dc6f532-b7af-481a-91ce-c15de0cc1c89&a=110310…] [https://files.constantcontact.com/880a246d001/bf98525f-ef5a-4b9a-ac95-0b7fb…]<https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=0017VkoeFWY_oCxU14…> Newsletter, 4 December 2023<https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=0017VkoeFWY_oCxU14…> [https://files.constantcontact.com/880a246d001/dacd0d59-07f3-40e8-8390-dbdc6…] Dear SHOT community, First, a huge thanks to everyone who labored so hard to make our annual meeting a smashing success! We were able to overcome most hurdles thanks to the hardworking program committee, the officers, the secretariat, the team at the University of Southern California, and all who attended in person or online. There were glitches, of course, but we try to keep learning from those! The deadlines for submission for next year’s meeting in Chile—8 December for Open Panels, and 18 December for fully formed panels—are coming up fast! This will be our first meeting with ICOHTEC in 30 years, our first meeting in South America, and our first bilingual meeting. It will take place on the campus of the Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez, in the beautiful seaside town of Viña del Mar from 9 to 14 July 2024. Our local partners are already hard at work organizing the logistics to ensure that everything goes smoothly. We need only receive your proposals for panels and papers, which you can submit here<https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=0017VkoeFWY_oCxU14…>. As you’ll see from the contents of this newsletter, SHOT has been busy even beyond our annual meeting. I’m particularly excited to foreground the work of the committee on Racial Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion. In addition to awarding an annual prize and half a dozen travel grants, REDI partnered with the University of Toronto to produce a new Bibliography for an Anti-Racist History of Technology<https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=0017VkoeFWY_oCxU14…>, and with Drexel University to cosponsor a transhemispheric graduate seminar on Race and Technology. SHOT also worked with its sibling organization focused on Latin American STS, ESOCITE, to cosponsor a doctoral school in Montevideo, Uruguay as preparation for next year’s meeting in Chile. You’ll find more details on these endeavors further down in the newsletter. I’m also excited to announce that as a result of discussions in the Executive Council, we’ve constituted two new ad hoc committees: * The Future of SHOT. This committee is centered around the question: what resources do SHOT members need from their society to help them thrive as scholars in the next decade? Chaired by Asif Siddiqi, this committee will help us to envision what scholarly networks could look like in the future, and how SHOT can creatively use its resources to facilitate that vision. The practical outcome of this work could take the form of a new portal for our work in common, but it could also take other forms. * SHOT Partnerships. This committee will explore how SHOT can continue to partner with universities and other scholarly institutions around the world to strengthen intellectual community in our field. As mentioned above, SHOT has engaged in several such partnership in the last few years. Past President Arwen Mohun, who built a partnership with the Consortium on the History of Science, Technology and Medicine to create a seminar on career diversity, will chair this committee. In addition, we have reshaped our Sites committee, now chaired by President-Elect Debbie Douglas, to work on plans for our annual meetings in 2025 (likely to be in person) and 2026 (likely to be online, with the addition of one-day regional meetings in a number of locations around the world. Finally, by now you’ll have seen our fundraising appeal. Please do take a moment to think about how you can support our many activities by renewing your membership, contributing funds<https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=0017VkoeFWY_oCxU14…>, and reading Technology and Culture directly via Project Muse! With fervent wishes for a peaceful end to 2023, Gabrielle Hecht SHOT President, 2023-2024 Newsletter Contents * ICOHTEC-SHOT 2024: Call for Papers (reminder) * Results 2023 SHOT Elections * Global Community Scholars * Joan Cahalin Robinson Prize 2023 * SHOT’s new Career Diversity Initiative * Transhemispheric Seminar on Race and the History of Technology * SHOT Participates in Latin American Doctoral School * Bibliography for an Anti-Racist History of Technology * Dibner Award 2023 * SHOT 2023 Annual Meeting Los Angeles * Ads & Announcements ICOHTEC-SHOT 2024: Call for Papers (reminder) Deadline 18 December 2023 Reparando / Repair in the History of Technology The technological environments we inhabit require continual repair and maintenance in order to function. Yet the people on whom such repairs rely—along with their knowledge and labor—too often remain unseen and undervalued, becoming visible only in cases of infrastructural breakdown or spectacular disaster. The routine invisibility of repair facilitates grand proclamations of technological solutionism, distracting from the requirements for living equitably in an increasingly fragmented and fragile world. How, then, does our understanding of the history of technology change when we center repair and maintenance? We will explore this and related questions at the first joint meeting between ICOHTEC and SHOT in three decades. This bilingual conference will take place in Viña del Mar, Chile from 9 to 14 July 2024. For the full Call For Papers and submission instructions, please visit the conference website.<https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=0017VkoeFWY_oCxU14…> (Information on the website is also available in Spanish) Submission deadline: 18 December 2023 Please note: The deadline for posting open session proposals on the SHOT website is 8 December 2023. The 2024 Program Committee: Diana J. Montaño (Chair), Magdalena Zdrodowska (Associate Chair), Itty Abraham, Leticia Galluzzi, José Ragas, Verónica Ramírez Errázuriz. Results 2023 SHOT Elections We are pleased to announce the results of the 2023 SHOT Elections. New members of the Executive Council (2024-2026) Adewumi Damilola Adebayo Diana J. Montaño Magdalena Zdrodowska Secretary (re-election second term) Jan Korsten Treasurer (re-election second term) Amy Bix Nominations Committee (2024-2026) Scott Gabriel Knowles Editorial Committee (2024-2028) Thomas Zeller We congratulate the elected candidates with their election, and we thank the candidates that were not elected for their willingness to take part in the SHOT elections 2023. We are grateful for their willingness to stand up and volunteer! Thank you to all Executive Council and committee members (both elected and appointed) for your efforts in 2023. SHOT depends on the commitment of its volunteer committee members! Finally we would like to especially thank Executive Council and committee members who are rotating of at the end of this year for all their work! If you are interested in serving the Society, please let us know. Global Community Scholars [https://files.constantcontact.com/880a246d001/dacd0d59-07f3-40e8-8390-dbdc6…] Each year, SHOT designates selected Global Community Scholars for a two-year term. These scholars act as ambassadors for the society in their countries and regions, both by informing SHOT about the history of technology in their regions, and by helping to disseminate information about the society and its activities. In return, they receive priority for travel grant applications and a free two-year SHOT membership, which includes a subscription to Technology and Culture. The 2023 Global Community Committee – Madhumita Saha (Chair), Damilola Adebayo, Sonia Robles, and Yovanna Pineda – is pleased to announce the 2023-2025 SHOT Global Community Scholars: * MUMTAZ ALAM is a citizen of Fiji. His work examined the intricate interplay between Fijian medicine, cultures, and history. Currently, he is working in Fiji National University. He writes, ‘My participation in the program enables cross-cultural insights and comparative discussions that broaden the scholarly community’s horizons.’ * FELIPE TRUJILLO BILBAO is a doctoral candidate at the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile. He is writing his dissertation on the topic of the green revolution and technological change in water usage in engineers who traveled from Chile to the US for technical assistance during the Cold War. He writes, ‘I would be honored to be nominated for this endeavor and put all of my efforts in promoting the work of the SHOT in the region, as well as helping in any way I can in the next SHOT annual meeting, which is a responsibility I have began to felt after seeing how difficult it has been to maintain a group of non-native English students and scholars engaged with the History of Technology.’ * JOSE G. ALVAREZ CORNETT is an independent scholar from Caracas, Venezuela with a background in Physics, Geosciences, and Asia-Pacific business. He created VES PROJECT, an independent research initiative to study the life of immigrant STEM professionals in Venezuela. He is a lecturer in the History of Science at the Faculty of Science of the Central University of Venezuela (UCV). He writes that he wants ‘To communicate to the international HST community, either in English or Spanish, the main characteristics of HST and SSST research work that has been carried out in Venezuela. Additionally, I would like to present to the SHOT community (1) the story of the outstanding role played by Venezuelan women in the development of technologies during the 20th century and the first quinquennial of the 21st century; (2) the Asian influence on science, medicine, and technology in Venezuela during the 20th century; and (3) the influence of Ukrainian immigration in the Venezuelan society in science, the arts, technology, and medicine (1949-1999).’ * BLESSING J. EDET did his Ph.D. at the University of Uyo, Nigeria. His thesis is titled, “Nigeria’s First Division and Trench Warfare in the Nigerian Civil War, 1967-1970”. Currently, he is a Lecturer at the School of Basic Studies (SBS) and the School of Continuing Education (SCE ) Department of History, University of Uyo. He hopes he ‘will contribute significantly to the SHOT debate on historicizing regional technologies as well as in achieving my long-term research goals.’ * ADENIJI OWALE specializes in military history. He takes a keen interest in the role of technology in Nigeria’s security architecture up until postcolonial times. Currently, he is a doctoral student at the Nigerian Defence Academy, Nigeria. He writes, ‘As a SHOT Global Community Scholar, I aim to share insights and enrich the global discourse on technology’s historical impact.’ * THAMARAI SELVAN KANNAN is a doctoral student at IIT-Madras, India. His areas of specialization include History of Science, Technology, Craft and Education. The applicant writes, ‘I have volunteered for the online (2021) and in-person (2022) annual conferences of our society in supporting the over-all organizing team. Last year I have organized a panel with fellow PhD candidates especially who comes from global south.’ Joan Cahalin Robinson Prize 2023 The Joan Cahalin Robinson Prize is awarded annually for the best-delivered paper by an individual who is making his/her/their first appearance at the Society’s annual meeting. Candidates for the award are judged not only on the quality of the historical research and scholarship of their paper, but also on the effectiveness of the oral presentation. At the annual meeting in Los Angeles the Robinson Prize Committee - David Munns (chair), Amy Bix, Jip van Besouw, Susan Schmidt Horning, Pete Soppelsa, Marco Storni, Aro Velmet, and Daniel Williford - compared the papers and presentations of 30 candidates. As winner of the 2023 Joan Cahalin Robinson Prize the committee selected: Roan Parrish (Virginia Tech) for “Constructing an Electronic Medical Record”. Roan's paper presentation was part of the session Medical Technologies I – Making Things, Producing Knowledge. SHOT’s new Career Diversity Initiative SHOT’s new Career Diversity initiative, in partnership with the Consortium for the History of Science, Technology, and Medicine, is off to a great start. The series began with informative and inspiring conversation featuring museum professionals, Debbie Douglas (MIT) and Tony Perry (Smithsonian), followed by an equally compelling session about employment in the U.S. Federal Government, with Adrienne Noe and Angel Callahan. If you are a graduate student, early career scholar, or advisor interested in learning more about the hows and whys of careers beyond the academy, this series is for you. Please join us for the next session on careers in oral history with David Caruso (Science History Institute) and Jannekan Smucker (West Chester University). The session is December 5, 2-3:30 on Zoom. Registration is required<https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=0017VkoeFWY_oCxU14…>. You can find more information at: https://www.chstm.org/groups<https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=0017VkoeFWY_oCxU14…> and https://www.chstm.org/content/career-diversity<https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=0017VkoeFWY_oCxU14…> or by contacting the conveners: Arwen Mohun mohun(a)udel.edu<mailto:mohun@udel.edu> and Jesse Smith JSmith(a)sciencehistory.org<mailto:JSmith@sciencehistory.org> Transhemispheric Seminar on Race and the History of Technology, September 12-15, Philadelphia Tiago Saraiva (Drexel University) Co-sponsored by Society for the History of Technology (SHOT), Drexel University, and the University of Toronto, this seminar brought together 11 early career scholars from Brazil, Canada, Colombia, India, Mexico, Namibia, Nigeria, Portugal, and the US for an immersive four-day trans-hemispheric conversation on race and the history of technology. Together with professors Edward Jones-Imhotep (University of Toronto), Projit Mukharji (Ashoka University), and Rosanna Dent (Rutgers), the editors of History and Technology, Amy Slaton and Tiago Saraiva, and Tapuya, Vivette García-Deister, facilitated diverse-format activities in the seminar room of the Department of History at Drexel University, in Philadelphia. [https://files.constantcontact.com/880a246d001/a20a9079-b835-4c99-8bc8-8d99b…] Building up from participants’ own research, we explored technological dimensions of blackness, mestizaje, blanquitud, and caste. Outside the room and about the city, Jason Ludwig (PhD Candidate, Cornell University) guided the group to the site of the Archeology West heritage project<https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=0017VkoeFWY_oCxU14…>, and we learned about the oldest LGBTQ+ library and archive in the US from John Anderies, Director of the J. Wilcox Jr. Archives collections of the William Way Community Center<https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=0017VkoeFWY_oCxU14…>. A visit to the Making Worlds Bookstore and Community Center<https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=0017VkoeFWY_oCxU14…> and a writing-exercise at the Merion Botanical Park were also on the schedule. As a result of this seminar, we are working with participants to generate a special issue to be published jointly by History and Techonlogy and Tapuya: Latin American Science, Technology and Society (Taylor&Francis). [https://files.constantcontact.com/880a246d001/01996162-a6a4-4b91-874f-561a2…] SHOT Participates in Latin American Doctoral School As part of SHOT’s efforts to foster global community and prepare for our 2024 meeting in Chile, the society participated in organizing the Summer 2023 VII Doctoral School of the Latin American Association for the Social Study of Science and Technology<https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=0017VkoeFWY_oCxU14…> (Asociación Latinoamericana de Estudios Sociales de la Ciencia y la Tecnología,ESOCITE). The week-long event was held July 24-28 at the Universidad de la República in Montevideo, Uruguay. SHOT representative Sonia Robles, who was part of SHOT’s global community committee, participated in the workshop’s organizing committee. Nelson Arellano part of the SHOT/ICOTECH committee working on the 2024 SHOT meeting in Viña del Mar Chile, delivered a keynote address on “Relations between Science and Technology Studies and the History of Technology.” SHOT’s participation alongside the NSF-funded RECSLAC Network for the Study of Science and Knowledge in Latin America and the Caribbean<https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=0017VkoeFWY_oCxU14…> is part of broader efforts to strengthen ties between US scholars of science and technology and their counterparts in Latin America and the Caribbean. For the first time, US-based PhD students presented dissertation chapters alongside their peers from Argentina, Ecuador, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, and Peru. Presenters received commentary from their peers and from faculty from across the Americas. A fuller account in Spanish<https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=0017VkoeFWY_oCxU14…> is available. Bibliography for an Anti-Racist History of Technology Do you want to learn about scholarship at the intersection of race studies and technology studies? Perhaps you’re designing a course module or starting a new project? Please check out our newly posted Bibliography for an Anti-Racist History of Technology<https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=0017VkoeFWY_oCxU14…>. Compiled by Justine “Tola” Ajao at the University of Toronto’s Institute for the History and Philosophy of Science and Technology, this bibliography builds on previous efforts by SHOT members. It includes article abstracts and review excerpts that help to orient readers new to this area. Dibner Award 2023 In our previous newsletter the winner of the Dibner Award for Excellence in Museum Exhibits was missing. The prize has been awarded to the Luxembourg Centre for Contemporary and Digital History (University of Luxembourg) for the online exhibit Minett Stories: Remixing Industrial Pasts in the Digital Age. You can read the full prize citation on our website<https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=0017VkoeFWY_oCxU14…>. Discover all our 2023 Award and Fellowship winners here<https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=0017VkoeFWY_oCxU14…>. SHOT 2023 Annual Meeting Los Angeles The Society for the History of Technology gratefully acknowledges the following sponsors, publishers, and supporters. We thank them for their generosity and support AIP B and B Stern Foundation Inc. CIFAR Eindhoven University of Technology Foundation for the History of Technology Hagley Museum and Library John Hopkins University Press Linda Hall Library of Science, Engineering and Technology MIT Press The University of Chicago Press University of Southern California (USC) Ads & Announcements [https://files.constantcontact.com/880a246d001/6c8db46a-32f3-4e02-8150-7df2c…] [https://files.constantcontact.com/880a246d001/023b3f3c-4ee7-47d0-90c9-f5458…] [https://files.constantcontact.com/880a246d001/67f8d69a-ed32-4139-8e0e-817b2…] [https://files.constantcontact.com/880a246d001/833121fe-3864-49de-a5cb-8fa88…] [https://files.constantcontact.com/880a246d001/16a53f80-8012-471c-93ac-eaecc…]<https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=0017VkoeFWY_oCxU14…> [https://files.constantcontact.com/880a246d001/e73235ee-53d8-4e3c-ab23-67dae…] [https://files.constantcontact.com/880a246d001/dfb9d081-4f98-4f1b-b6f0-30373…] [https://files.constantcontact.com/880a246d001/e19ad4af-957f-4c4f-9d71-444ce…] [https://files.constantcontact.com/880a246d001/78c171e3-b556-4cdd-8bd3-eca71…] [https://files.constantcontact.com/880a246d001/7b3603e3-90b6-4689-a39e-da506…] [https://files.constantcontact.com/880a246d001/8fa75e4c-f88c-4e22-81c9-eb489…] [https://files.constantcontact.com/880a246d001/b645d3cf-bd8f-4735-99a4-8d886…] Society F<https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=0017VkoeFWY_oCxU14…>or The History Of Technology<https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=0017VkoeFWY_oCxU14…> SHOT.secretariat(a)tue.nl Newsletter editors: Jan Korsten, Alina Bykova, and Sonja Beekers Contact Us<https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=0017VkoeFWY_oCxU14…> [https://files.constantcontact.com/880a246d001/a83ad4b0-bf9c-497a-9508-6dea3…]<https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=0017VkoeFWY_oCxU14…> [Facebook]<https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=0017VkoeFWY_oCxU14…> Share This Email<https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=0017VkoeFWY_oCxU14…> [Twitter]<https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=0017VkoeFWY_oCxU14…> Share This Email<https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=0017VkoeFWY_oCxU14…> [LinkedIn]<https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=0017VkoeFWY_oCxU14…> Share This Email<https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=0017VkoeFWY_oCxU14…> Society for the History of Technology | Sonja Beekers, Foundation for the History of Technology, Eindhoven, 5600 MB Netherlands Unsubscribe petrick(a)rice.edu<https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://visitor.constantcontact.com/do?p=un&m=0…> Constant Contact Data Notice<https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=0017VkoeFWY_oCxU14…> Sent by shot.secretariat(a)tue.nl<mailto:shot.secretariat@tue.nl> powered by [Trusted Email from Constant Contact - Try it FREE today.] <https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=0017VkoeFWY_oCxU14…> Try email marketing for free today!<https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=0017VkoeFWY_oCxU14…>

2 1

Annals Oct-Dec Table of Contents
by hemmendd＠union.edu 03 Dec '23

03 Dec '23

We are pleased to announce this special issue. David Hemmendinger, Editor Histories of Computing in Oceania, Guest Editors' Introduction, Sebastian K. Boell and Janet M. Toland The Modern History of ICT in Oceania-PEACESAT and USPNet Rieko Hayakawa, Robert Underwood, and Jennifer Anson Computing Technologies for Resilience, Sustainability, and Resistance Petera Hudson, Hemi Whaanga, and Te Taka Keegan Educational Computers in New Zealand Schools: 1977 to 1983 Alastair Nisbet Trevor Pearcey and the Development of CSIRAC-An Australian First-Generation Computer, Barbara Ainsworth Biography: Monte Sala's Cryptographic Achievements, T. Alex Reid Anecdotes: Computer Networking Initiatives in One of the World's Remote Cities T. Alex Reid Tracing the Origins of the First Soviet Computers, Beyond Legends Giovanni A. Cignoni and Sergei P. Prokhorov Events and Sightings: Opening of the Bob Doran Museum of Computing Brian E. Carpenter Capturing an Oral History of Computing in Australia, Sebastian K. Boell and Peter Thorne Documenting CAD History With CHM's Software Industry Special Interest Group David Brock Interview: Oral History of Rodney Brooks, Hansen Hsu Think Piece: Dissecting Data: History of Data as History of the Body, Andrew S. Lea

3 2

Babbage Engine - Full Technical Description on Open Access
by Doron Swade 02 Dec '23

02 Dec '23

Dear All I am pleased to report that the full technical description of Charles Babbage's Difference Engine No. 2 has recently been made available online on open access by the Science Museum (London). The Engine was built to Babbage's original drawings (1847-1849) and completed in 2002. It has 8,000 parts, weighs 5 tonnes, and works as Babbage intended. It is the first of Babbage's calculating engines to be built in its entirety. Over the decades-long life of the project I documented the interpretation of the 19th-century drawings, the design decisions made in its construction, its assembly, operational debugging, and what was learned from running the Engine for countless live public demonstrations. A full description of the Engine is presented in two works available online: <https://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/sites/default/files/2023-09/DE2_Technical_ Description.pdf> Difference Engine No.2 Technical Description (232 pages, 131 illustrations) Provides a detailed interpretation of Babbage's design, and documents the technical understanding that informed the successful construction of the working machine. <https://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/sites/default/files/2023-08/User_Manual_PD F_Vsn_1.1_Final_SEC1.pdf> Difference Engine No.2 User Manual (147 pages, 199 illustrations) Documents the practical procedures for operating the Engine safely, setting up a calculation, testing, trouble-shooting, fault-finding, and maintenance including lubrication. The two documents are free-standing i.e. relevant drawing-excerpts are embedded in the text so that understanding does not, for the most part, rely on reference to the full 19th-century design drawings. Direct Browser Links: Technical Description: https://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/sites/default/files/2023-09/DE2_Technical_D escription.pdf User Manual: <https://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/sites/default/files/2023-08/User_Manual_PD F_Vsn_1.1_Final_SEC1.pdf> https://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/sites/default/files/2023-08/User_Manual_PDF _Vsn_1.1_Final_SEC1.pdf Additional Material <https://collection.sciencemuseumgroup.org.uk/documents/aa110000003/the-babb age-papers> The Babbage Papers at the Science Museum: * Digitised archive of Babbage papers including full technical archive and Notebooks. https://collection.sciencemuseumgroup.org.uk/documents/aa110000003/the-babba ge-papers <https://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/objects-and-stories/charles-babbages-diffe rence-engines-and-science-museum> Charles Babbage's Difference Engines and the Science Museum | Science Museum * Short contextual and historical summary. * Links to the Technical Description and User Manual are in Further Reading. https://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/objects-and-stories/charles-babbages-differ ence-engines-and-science-museum Citation: Swade, Doron, Charles Babbage's Difference Engine No. 2: Technical Description. Science Museum, 2023. Swade Doron, Charles Babbage's Difference Engine No. 2: User Manual. Science Museum, 2023. Best wishes Doron Swade

4 4

Linda Hall Library, 2024-25 Fellowships & Info Sessions
by Benjamin Gross 01 Dec '23

01 Dec '23

Dear SIGCIS Friends, The Linda Hall Library<https://www.lindahall.org/> is now accepting applications for its 2024-25 fellowship program. These fellowships provide graduate students, postdoctoral researchers, and independent scholars in the history of science and related humanities fields with financial support to explore the Library's outstanding science and engineering collections. Fellows also participate in a dynamic intellectual community alongside in-house experts and scholars from other Kansas City cultural institutions. The Linda Hall Library offers residential fellowships to support on-site research in Kansas City, as well as virtual fellowships for scholars working remotely using resources from our digital collections. Applicants may request up to four months of funding at a rate of $3,000 per month for doctoral students and $4,200 per month for postdoctoral researchers and scholars with other terminal degrees (e.g., MFA, MLIS). In addition, the Library has several fellowships intended for specific groups of researchers, including: * The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) Fellowship (9 months, postdoctoral, $5,000 per month) * The History of Science and Medicine Fellowship, cosponsored by the Clendening History of Medicine Library<https://www.kumc.edu/school-of-medicine/academics/departments/history-and-p…> (1 month, doctoral, $3,000 per month) * The Pearson Fellowship in Aerospace History (Up to 2 months, postdoctoral, $4,200 per month) * The Presidential Fellowship in Bibliography (Up to 4 months, postdoctoral, $4,200 per month) * The Ukraine Fellowship, offered in partnership with the UK-Ukraine Twinning Initiative<https://www.twinningukraine.com/> (Up to 2 months, doctoral/postdoctoral, Ukrainian citizens only, $4,200 per month) Further details about the Linda Hall Library's 2024-25 fellowships can be found on our website: https://lindahall.org/fellowships. While you are there, you can submit an application or sign up for our online information sessions on December 8, 2023<https://www.lindahall.org/research/linda-hall-library-fellowships/fellowshi…> and January 5, 2024<https://www.lindahall.org/research/linda-hall-library-fellowships/fellowshi…>. You are also welcome to email questions directly to fellowships(a)lindahall.org<mailto:fellowships@lindahall.org>. Please note that all application materials, including recommendation letters, are due no later than January 19, 2024. Please share this announcement with graduate students, colleagues, or anyone else who might be benefit from the Linda Hall Library's collections. Many thanks and best wishes, -Ben Gross Benjamin Gross, PhD Vice President for Research and Scholarship Linda Hall Library of Science, Engineering and Technology 5109 Cherry Street Kansas City, Missouri 64110 816.926.8718 grossb(a)lindahall.org<mailto:grossb@lindahall.org> www.lindahall.org<http://www.lindahall.org/>

1 0

Internet Histories, Volume 7, Issue 4, December 2023
by Asger Harlung 29 Nov '23

29 Nov '23

To whom it may concern The journal editors are please to announce that: Internet Histories, Volume 7, Issue 4, December 2023 is now available online. One article is open access, one is free for a limited time. The issue may be accessed here: https://www.tandfonline.com/toc/rint20/7/4 Below, please find an overview of contents of this issue. Please also consider submitting an article to the journal, more information about submission can be found here http://www.tandfonline.com/action/authorSubmission?journalCode=rint20&page=…. --------- Contents: Between two Acts: competing narratives, activism and governance in Singapore’s digital sphere Howard Lee & Terence Lee Old “cowboy towns”: enduring democratic enclaves as Singapore’s alternative digital histories, 1994–2011 Kai Khiun Liew The Wikipedia imaginaire: a new media history beyond Wikipedia.org (2001–2022) | Open Access Steve Jankowski Continuity and discontinuity in web archives: a multi-level reconstruction of the firsttuesday community through persistences, continuity spaces and web cernes Quentin Lobbé Sorting URLs out: seeing the web through infrastructural inversion of archival crawling | Free Access for a Limited Time Emily Maemura

1 0

Living Computer Museum Seattle
by Peter Krapp 24 Nov '23

24 Nov '23

Hello all, So sorry to see the Living Computer Museum Seattle https://livingcomputers.org/ in continued suspension… is there someone on this list who knows an employee there whom might be able to interview about the museum (which I visited several times before it closed) and its past, present, and possibly its future? I’ll take any advice off-list (krapp at uci dot edu works best), thank you in advance for any insights. Regards, pk

1 0

Fw: SHOT E-Newsflash - CfP ICOHTEC - SHOT 2024 Annual Meeting
by Elizabeth Petrick 21 Nov '23

21 Nov '23

SHOT has shared more details on the meeting next summer. Note that the submission deadlines are very quick this year! Best, Liz ------------- Elizabeth Petrick Co-Director, STS Program Associate Professor Department of History Rice University http://elizabethpetrick.com/ ________________________________ From: Society for the History of Technology <shot.secretariat(a)tue.nl> Sent: Tuesday, November 21, 2023 2:56 AM To: Elizabeth Petrick <Elizabeth.Petrick(a)rice.edu> Subject: SHOT E-Newsflash - CfP ICOHTEC - SHOT 2024 Annual Meeting [https://r20.rs6.net/on.jsp?ca=819edc62-a9d2-49f3-b3f8-d9663f7a5392&a=110310…] [https://files.constantcontact.com/880a246d001/bf98525f-ef5a-4b9a-ac95-0b7fb…]<https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=001JsstciEWGPSbMV5…> SHOT E-Newsflash 20 November 2023 [https://files.constantcontact.com/880a246d001/dacd0d59-07f3-40e8-8390-dbdc6…] Call for Papers Joint ICOHTEC-SHOT Annual Meeting - Viña del Mar, Chile - 9 to 14 July 2024 Call for Papers Reparando / Repair in the History of Technology Joint annual meeting of the International Committee for the History of Technology (ICOHTEC) and the Society for the History of Technology (SHOT) 9-14 July 2024 in Viña del Mar, Chile The technological environments we inhabit require continual repair and maintenance in order to function. Yet the people on whom such repairs rely—along with their knowledge and labor—too often remain unseen and undervalued, becoming visible only in cases of infrastructural breakdown or spectacular disaster. The routine invisibility of repair facilitates grand proclamations of technological solutionism, distracting from the requirements for living equitably in an increasingly fragmented and fragile world. How does our understanding of the history of technology change when we center repair and maintenance? Such a shift involves highlighting users and experiential knowledge. It opens up conceptions of what counts as technological knowledge and who counts as technological actors. Such themes have lurked in our field for some time, mounting in scale and significance over the last decade. Repair is now part of our vocabulary, here to stay. The time has come to make it the thematic core of our annual meeting. The first joint conference between ICOHTEC and SHOT in three decades, to be held bilingually in Viña del Mar, Chile, provides the ideal place for doing so. Reparando—the gerund of repair in Spanish—holds a special place in the history of Chile, a nation at the intersection of several tectonic plates. Chileans accept seismic activity as part of everyday life, remaining unfazed by mild earthquakes. Of course, the stronger earthquakes are deeply disruptive, destroying cities and communities. In 1960, the deadliest earthquake registered in human history (magnitude 9.5) struck the southern region of Valdivia. Accompanied by a tsunami, the Great Chilean Earthquake destroyed livelihoods and property, and took thousands of lives. This destruction required not just concrete infrastructural repair, but also social and emotional repair for traumatized victims. The Chilean experience highlights the need to approach repair as a practice of human and technological resilience, in which cooperation and compassion are as essential as material rebuilding and fixing. This is the context in which we invite a critical appraisal of the concept, strategies, and philosophies of repair. How does repair/reparando sustain our built environment and our daily lives? How can we think through brokenness, restoration, and care? What and who counts as “normal,” and how does that affect our infrastructures? How do people excluded from infrastructural benefits use rebuilding, repurposing, adjusting, and reparando as navigational strategies? How do discussions about repair and repurposing reflect social, political, and cultural dynamics? What does reparando look like at different scales, from the individual to the planetary? And how can focusing on these themes open a discussion of what requires repair in our own field of the history of technology – and what methodologies and approaches are needed to enact that repair? Topics and themes of special interest to the program committee include (but are not limited to): * The ethics, aesthetics, and politics of repair * Adjusting, tinkering, hacking - tactics for times of scarcity * Invisible labor in science and technology * Geographies of repair and care, from the local to the planetary * The role of technology in environmental and climate (in)justice * Ableism, disability, and crip epistemologies in technology studies  Indigenous lands, indigenous knowledge * Queering the history of technology * Technologies of care and healing * Local cultures of repair, repurposing, and recycling * Intersections of repair, design, and engineering * Normies and Others in technological history * The technological dimensions and aftermaths of disasters, emergencies, and crises * Reckoning with colonial pasts and imagining decolonial futures * Repairing the history of technology: methodological and epistemic strategies for the future of the discipline * The role of conservation, preservation, and archives in understanding the past and repairing the field While we especially hope to prompt conversations around such matters, we also welcome proposals on other topics in the history of technology. We warmly welcome proposals from the wide range of fields that study such questions, including STS, Anthropology, American Studies, Black Studies, Communication, Discard Studies, Gender Studies, Cultural Studies, Indigenous Studies, LatinX Studies, Literary Criticism, Media Studies, Philosophy, Political Science, and Sociology. We especially encourage scholarship in African, Asian, and Latin American Studies. Of special note: the program committee will accept proposals in English and Spanish, as well as for sessions that include both languages. Simultaneous translation will be available for plenaries and at least two session threads each day. As we get closer to the conference time, we will provide more details. ICOHTEC and SHOT are committed to the ongoing diversification of our field. In addition to valuing intellectual quality, we encourage and will prioritize proposals that reflect diversity in their line-up of speakers, in particular with regard to career level, gender, race, and/or geography. The submission deadline for open panels is 8 December 2023. The final deadline for all paper and panel submissions is 18 December 2023. Please consult the conference website<https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=001JsstciEWGPSbMV5…> for detailed submission guidelines. ICOHTEC, SHOT, and their joint program committee look forward to a vigorous, enthusiastic, and intellectually stimulating annual meeting in Viña del Mar! 2024 Program Committee: Diana J. Montaño (Chair), Magdalena Zdrodowska (Associate Chair), Itty Abraham, Leticia Galluzzi, José Ragas, Verónica Ramírez Errázuriz Convocatoria Reparando / Repair en la Historia de la Tecnología Congreso conjunto de la International Committee for the History of Technology (ICOHTEC) y the Society for the History of Technology (SHOT) 9-14 julio del 2024 en Viña del Mar, Chile Los entornos tecnológicos que habitamos dependen del trabajo constante de mantenimiento y reparación para su funcionamiento. Sin embargo, las personas que realizan dichas reparaciones–junto con sus conocimientos y su trabajo–comúnmente pasan desapercibidas e infravaloradas, haciéndose visibles sólo cuando una infraestructura se avería o en caso de una catástrofe espectacular. La invisibilidad rutinaria de la reparación facilita las grandes proclamas de solucionismo tecnológico, distrayendonos de los requisitos para vivir equitativamente en un mundo cada vez más fragmentado y frágil. ¿Cómo cambia entonces nuestra comprensión de la historia de la tecnología cuando centramos la reparación y el mantenimiento? Este cambio implica poner de relieve a los usuarios y el conocimiento empírico. Abre la puerta a concepciones sobre qué se considera conocimiento tecnológico y quiénes son considerados actores tecnológicos. Estos temas han estado presentes en nuestra disciplina por algún tiempo, pero su escala e importancia han aumentado en la última década. La reparación ya forma parte de nuestro vocabulario y ha llegado para quedarse. Ha llegado el momento de convertirla en el núcleo temático de nuestra reunión anual. La primera conferencia conjunta entre SHOT e ICOHTEC en tres décadas, que se celebrará de forma bilingüe en Viña del Mar, Chile, ofrece el lugar ideal para hacerlo. Reparando–el gerundio de reparar en español–ocupa un lugar especial en la historia chilena, una nación situada físicamente sobre varias placas tectónicas. Los habitantes del actual chile aceptan la actividad sísmica como parte de su vida cotidiana, sin inmutarse ante los terremotos leves. Por supuesto, los terremotos más fuertes son profundamente perturbadores y destruyen ciudades y comunidades. En 1960, el terremoto de mayor intensidad registrado en la historia de la humanidad (magnitud 9,5) sacudió la región sureña de Valdivia. Acompañado de un tsunami, el Gran Terremoto de Chile, como llegó a conocerse, cobró miles de vidas, y destruyó medios de subsistencia y propiedades. Esta destrucción requirió no sólo la reparación concreta de las infraestructuras, sino también la reparación social y emocional de las víctimas traumatizadas. La experiencia chilena pone de relieve la necesidad de abordar la reparación como una práctica de resiliencia humana y tecnológica, en la que la cooperación y la compasión son tan esenciales como la reconstrucción y el arreglo materiales. Este es el contexto en el que invitamos a una valoración crítica del concepto, las estrategias y las filosofías de la reparación. ¿Cómo sostiene la reparación nuestro entorno construido y nuestra vida cotidiana? ¿Cómo podemos pensar desde la ruptura, la restauración y el cuidado? ¿Qué y quién se considera “normal” y cómo afecta esto a nuestras infraestructuras? ¿Cómo las personas excluidas de los beneficios de las infraestructuras usan la reconstrucción, la readaptación, el ajuste y la reparación como estrategias de navegación? ¿Cómo reflejan los debates sobre reparación y reutilización las dinámicas sociales, políticas y culturales? ¿Qué aspecto tiene la reparación en las diferentes escalas, desde la individual a la planetaria? ¿Y cómo puede centrarse la atención en estos temas para abrir un debate sobre lo que requiere reparación en nuestro propio campo de la historia de la tecnología, y qué metodologías y enfoques son necesarios para llevar a cabo dicha reparación? Entre los temas de especial interés para el comité organizador se incluyen (pero no se limitan * La ética, la estética y la política de la reparación * Ajustar, manipular, piratear: tácticas para época de escasez * El trabajo invisible en la ciencia y la tecnología * Geografías de reparación y cuidado, desde lo local hasta lo planetario * El papel de la tecnología en el medio ambiente y la (in)justicia climática * Epistemologías de capacitismo, incapacidad y crip en estudios sobre la tecnología * Tierras indigenas, conocimiento indigena * Introducir lo cuir en la historia de la tecnología * Tecnologías de cuidado y sanación * Culturas locales de reparación, adaptación, y reciclaje * Intersección de reparacion, diseno, e ingenieria * La gente común en la historia de la tecnología * Las dimensiones tecnológicas y secuelas tras desastres, emergencias y crisis * Enfrentarse a los pasados coloniales e imaginar futuros descolonizados * Reparación en la historia de la tecnología: estrategias metodológicas y estrategias epistémicas para el futuro de la disciplina * El papel de la conservación, preservación y los archivos en comprender el pasado y reparar la disciplina Aunque esperamos especialmente suscitar conversaciones en torno a estas cuestiones, también aceptamos propuestas sobre otros temas de la historia de la tecnología. Invitamos cordialmente a académicos de diversas disciplinas a unirse a nuestras conversaciones (incluidos los de Antropología, Estudios Americanos, Estudios Afroamericanos, Estudios de Género, Estudios Culturales, Estudios Indígenas, Estudios LatinX, Crítica Literaria, Estudios de Medios de Comunicación, Filosofía, Ciencias Políticas y Sociología). Alentamos especialmente la participación de especialistas en estudios africanos, asiáticos y latinoamericanos. Nota especial: el comité organizador aceptará propuestas en inglés y español, así como para sesiones que incluyan ambos idiomas. Habrá traducción simultánea en las sesiones plenarias y al menos en dos sesiones diarias. A medida que se acerque la fecha de la conferencia, daremos más detalles. SHOT e ICOHTEC están comprometidas con una política de diversidad. Además de la calidad intelectual, acogemos con gran satisfacción propuestas que reflejan diversidad en la composición de los exponentes, en particular en lo que se refiere a nivel profesional, género y geografía. La fecha límite para la presentación de paneles abiertos es el 8 de diciembre de 2023. La fecha límite para la presentación de ponencias y paneles es el 18 de diciembre de 2023. Consulte el sitio web de la conferencia<https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=001JsstciEWGPSbMV5…> <https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=001JsstciEWGPSbMV5…> para conocer las directrices detalladas de presentación. SHOT, ICOHTEC y el comité organizador esperan que la reunión de Viña del Mar sea enérgica, entusiasta e intelectualmente estimulante! 2024 Comité de programa: Diana J. Montaño (presidenta), Magdalena Zdrodowska (Presidenta Asociada), Itty Abraham, Leticia Galluzzi, José Ragas, Verónica Ramírez Errázuriz Society For The History Of Technology<https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=001JsstciEWGPSbMV5…> Secretariat: Atlas Building 8.418 - P.O. Box 513 5600 MB Eindhoven (the Netherlands) shot.secretariat(a)tue.nl Contact Us<https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=001JsstciEWGPSbMV5…> [https://files.constantcontact.com/880a246d001/a83ad4b0-bf9c-497a-9508-6dea3…]<https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=001JsstciEWGPSbMV5…> [Facebook]<https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=001JsstciEWGPSbMV5…> Share This Email<https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=001JsstciEWGPSbMV5…> [Twitter]<https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=001JsstciEWGPSbMV5…> Share This Email<https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=001JsstciEWGPSbMV5…> [LinkedIn]<https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=001JsstciEWGPSbMV5…> Share This Email<https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=001JsstciEWGPSbMV5…> Society for the History of Technology | IPO 8.418, PO Box 513, Eindhoven, 5600 MB Netherlands Unsubscribe elizabeth.petrick(a)rice.edu<https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://visitor.constantcontact.com/do?p=un&m=0…> Constant Contact Data Notice<https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=001JsstciEWGPSbMV5…> Sent by shot.secretariat(a)tue.nl<mailto:shot.secretariat@tue.nl> powered by [Trusted Email from Constant Contact - Try it FREE today.] <https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=001JsstciEWGPSbMV5…> Try email marketing for free today!<https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=001JsstciEWGPSbMV5…>

1 0

International Species Information System?
by Jacob Ward 20 Nov '23

20 Nov '23

Dear all, On behalf of a colleague, I'm writing to see if anyone has any source/literature tips on the International Species Information System? The system was a computerized information system for zoo animals, designed in the 1970s, and apparently was quite influential on zoo administration. Let me know, and thanks in advance! Best, Jacob

1 0

alumni magazine article on Kathy Kleiman
by Jonathan Coopersmith 18 Nov '23

18 Nov '23

FYI: https://www.american.edu/magazine/article/in-their-footsteps.cfm Alumni magazines are always looking to highlight alums so include them in the distribution of your next book. Stay sane, Jonathan Jonathan Coopersmith Fellow, American Association for the Advancement of Science Professor Emeritus Department of History Texas A&M University College Station, TX 77843-4236 979.739.4708 (cell) John Mather "Instrument Maker to the Stars," <https://aerospaceamerica.aiaa.org/departments/instrument-maker-to-the-stars/> *Aerospace America* November 2023 "Technological obsolescence, <https://www.nationalacademies.org/news/2023/05/technological-obsolescence>" National Academy of Engineering *Perspectives* May 23, 2023 Preserving space archives: https://www.toboldlypreserve.space/

1 0