Documentary. On-line preview.
Newton. The Dark Heretics
In this program, NOVA explores the strange and
complex mind of Isaac Newton. Using docudrama scenes starring Scott
Handy (Masterpiece Theatre's Henry VIII) as Newton, this film recreates
the unique climate of late 17th-century England, where a newfound
fascination with science and mathematics coexisted with extreme views on
religious doctrine. Newton shared both obsessions. The program also
covers Newton's most important discoveries in mathematics, physics, and
optics. And it follows a detailed recreation of one of Newton's
little-known alchemical experiments, assembled by Bill Newman, Professor
of History and Philosophy of Science at Indiana University
Running Time:
56 Minutes
Country:
USA
Narrated by
F. Murray Abraham
Produced by
Chris Oxley & Malcolm Neaum
Directed by
Chris Oxley
Produced for NOVA by
Joseph McMaster
Narration Written By
Joseph McMaster
Associate Producer
Julie Crawford
Edited By
Nathan Hendrie
Safi Ferrah
Archival Materials & Art Resource
Burndy Library, Dibner Institute for the History of Science and
Technology
Bridgeman Art Library
Cambridge University Library
Corbis
Houghton Library, Harvard University
Jewish National and University Library
Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna
Lincolnshire County Council
NASA
National Portrait Gallery
Rita Greer
Science Photo Library
The Royal Society
Trinity College
Special Thanks
Dr. Mordechai Feingold
Dr. Guy Blaylock
Dr. Arthur Greenberg
Dr. Lawrence Principe
Dr. Robert Hunt
Dr. William R. Newman, Indiana University
Clifford Johnson, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale
University
Chris "Mr. Math" McGrath
Burndy Library, Dibner Institute for the History of Science and
Technology
Babson College
Caltech
The Royal Society
Executive Producer, BBC
Anne Tyerman
A Blakeway Production for the BBC and WGBH Boston
© 2003 BBC
Buy it now!
Symposium
Mystik und Natur, 16.11. - 18.11.2007 Salzburg
Die Theophrastus-Stiftung lädt ein zur Beschäftigung
mit der Geschichte des Verhältnisses von „Mystik und Natur“ und hat dazu
eine Reihe wissenschaftlich vielfach ausgewiesener Experten zu einzelnen
Themen dieses Bereichs als Vortragende gewonnen. Es handelt sich bei
ihnen um Vertreter verschiedener Disziplinen aus mehreren Ländern, so
dass ein breites interdisziplinäres und internationales Spektrum
gewährleistet ist.
Das Wissenschaftssymposium findet vom 16.11. -18.11.2007 statt und
beginnt am Freitag um 17:15 in der Aula der Universitätsbibliothek
Salzburg. Wissenschaftler, Studierende, Journalisten und
Fachinteressierten sind herzlich dazu eingeladen, sich
hier über das Anmeldeformular oder unter
symposium@theophrastus-stiftung.de oder per Fax 0049-(0)6151-148689
anzumelden.
Programm Mystik und
Natur
Symposium
The Apothecary's Chest: Magic, Art & Medication
24 November 2007
University of Glasgow
This one-day symposium aims at bringing together experienced academics
and postgraduate students to discuss the evolution of the notions of
mysticism, knowledge and superstition in the way they are intertwined in
both science and literary imagination in the figure of healers such as
the apothecary, the alchemist, the shaman.
For this, the symposium will revolve around three main areas:
i. traditional perceptions: history of physicians who combined knowledge
and superstition, and the literature from middle ages onwards; key
notions: the occult, disease, science and magic, prophesy
ii. turning point: political dimension of that minority who attained a
privileged access to medical knowledge; key notions: exclusivity of
knowledge, conspiracy, manipulation of superstitions
iii. modern times: development of the symbolism of the healer in
literature and its modern equivalents as regards the exclusivity of
knowledge equals power in subjects such as transplants, cults,
alternative medicine.
The deadline for proposals is the 20th September 2007. Please send a 200
word proposal (time limit: 20minutes) along with a short bio and
University affiliation to
apothecary@arts.gla.ac.uk
For more information:
http://www.arts.gla.ac.uk/apothecary/
Early Modern Philosophy and the Scientific
Imagination Seminar
Convenors: Stephen Clucas and Peter J Forshaw
The purpose of EMPHASIS (Early
Modern Philosophy and the Scientific Imagination) is to provide a London
forum for scholars working in the history of philosophy, intellectual
history and the history of science of Europe in the period 1400-1650.
The term ‘philosophy' is interpreted in its fullest Renaissance sense,
and includes such themes as: Neoplatonism, scholasticism and late
Aristotelian philosophy, Epicureanism, stoicism, scepticism,
cosmological theories, the classification of the disciplines,
encyclopaedism, Lullism, the art of memory, the philosophy of
mathematics, theories of the soul, theories of language and signs, etc.
All meetings: Saturdays, 2.00-4.00pm.
2007-2008 PROGRAMME
Saturday 6 October 2007:
2.00pm, Room NG14 (Senate House North Block)
Felicity Henderson (King's College, London)
'Scattered Remains: locating the books and papers of Robert Hooke'
Guest co-chair: Nadiya Midgley (Birkbeck)
Saturday 3 November 2007; 2.00pm, Room NG14 (Senate
House North Block)
John A.W. Lock
'Practical applications of a mid-sixteenth-century English alchemist and
metallurgist'
Guest co-chair: Jennifer Rampling (Cambridge, HPS)
Saturday 8 December 2007 ; 2.00pm, Room NG14 (Senate
House North Block)
Peter Harrison (Manchester College, Oxford)
'What was philosophical about Natural Philosophy?'
Guest co-chair: Andrew Campbell (UCL)
Saturday 12 January 2008 ;
2.00pm, Room NG14 (Senate House North Block)
Stephen Johnston (Museum of the History of
Science, Oxford)
'Mathematics, Causes and Magnetism: Thomas Digges on the variation of
the compass'
Saturday 9 February 2008 ; 2.00pm, Room NG14 (Senate
House North Block)
Susan James (Birkbeck, University of London)
'Reading Spinoza's "Tractus Theologico-Politicus" '
Saturday 8 March 2008 ; 2.00pm, Room STB8 (Stewart House, basement)
Pascal Brioist (CESR, Tours)
'The Geometry of the Bastion in Renaissance Fortifications '
Saturday 5 April 2008 ; 2.00pm, Room NG14 (Senate House North
Block)
Andrew Campbell (University College, London)
'Paolo Antonio Foscarini: A Life Less Copernican'
Saturday 3 May 2008 ; 2.00pm, Room NG14 (Senate House North Block)
Christopher D Johnson (Harvard University)
'Breaking the Encyclopaedia: Francis Bacon's "Sylva Sylvarum" '
Saturday 7 June 2008 ; 2.00pm, Room NG16 (Senate House North Block)
Richard Coulton
'Gentleman and Horticulture in eighteenth-century London '
Ph.D. Position at the University of Amsterdam
Ph.D. VACANCY IN THE DOMAIN OF WESTERN ESOTERICISM
Universiteit van Amsterdam, 2007
The Universiteit van Amsterdam (UvA) is a university with an excellent
international reputation. It is located in Amsterdam, well-known as a
center for culture, media, and research. The UvA is a member of the
League of European Research Universities.
The Faculty of Humanities offers teaching and research programs with a
strong international profile, within a large number of disciplines in
the domains of language and culture. The Faculty is located in the
center of Amsterdam and maintains intensive contacts with many cultural
organizations in the capital. The Faculty has almost a thousand
employees, and its teaching programs are followed by ca. 6500 students.
The Research Institute for Culture and History (ICG) has programs for
Archaeology, History, Literature, Art & Cultural Heritage, the Golden
Age, and European Studies. The emphasis lies on studying European
culture from a historical perspective. Important in that regard is that
texts and artefacts are studied in the context in which they emerged and
functioned.
The program “Western Esotericism: Continuities and Discontinuities”
focuses on critical historical and empirical research in the domain of
History of Hermetic Philosophy and Related Currents, also referred to as
Western Esotericism. For a description of the program, see the section
“Research” elsewhere on this website. In the context of this research
program, the Center for History of Hermetic Philosophy and Related
Currents now has a vacancy for a
PhD position (m/f)
full-time, or part-time (75 %)
vacancy number 07-3050
For both internal and external candidates
The intention is that the research proposal will focus on a relevant
topic in the period from the Enlightenment (18th century) to the
present. The interrelation of esoteric religiosity with all aspects of
Western culture (religion, philosophy, art, literature, music) means
that the domain of research is strongly interdisciplinary or
multidisciplinary in nature; the vacancy is therefore open to candidates
from all disciplines in the humanities.
ACTIVITIES
The candidate is expected to write and complete a Ph.D. dissertation
within a period of three years (or within four years in case of a
part-time position). The dissertation should be written in English. The
job interviews will be conducted in the English language as well.
APPOINTMENT
The appointment is expected to take effect as of January 1, 2008, on the
basis of a temporary contract for one year. After having successfully
completed this first year, the candidate will be employed for another
two years. The gross monthly salary will be in accordance with the
University regulations for academic personnel, and will range from a
minimum of € 2,279 in the first year to a maximum of € 2,502 in the last
year.
INFORMATION
For further information, candidates can contact Prof. Dr. W.J.
Hanegraaff, Oude Turfmarkt 147, 1012 GC Amsterdam. Tel.: +20
5253570/3571. Email: w.j.hanegraaff@uva.nl
A standard format to be used in writing the research proposal can be
downloaded here
APPLICATION
Candidates should send their letters of application, along with their
CV, list of grades, and research proposal in English (or in Dutch, with
an English translation), before November 1, 2007 to the coordinator of
the Institute for Culture and History, Drs. P.J. Koopman, Spuistraat
134, 1012 VB Amsterdam. E-mail p.j.koopman@uva.nl. Applications received
later than November 1 will not be taken into consideration.
International Conference
Traces of the Avant-Garde: Theatrum alchemicum
Berlin, 01.11.-03.11.2007
Conception and Organisation:
Helmar Schramm
Ludger Schwarte
Jan Lazardzig
Daniela Hahn
Michael Lorber
Objective:
The perhaps greatest riddles of the European Avant-Gardes and the
neo-Avant-Gardes of the 20th century are linked to striking references
to alchemy. Our conference aims to take account of this strange finding,
this notable challenge, but also sees itself as a continuation of the
series THEATRUM SCIENTIARUM, which, over the last two years, has already
treated Traces of the Avant-Garde: Theatrum machinarum and
Traces of the Avant-Garde: Theatrum anatomicum. The Theatrum
alchemicum shall be illuminated as a natural philosophical
labyrinth, as the hybrid merging of mythical knowledge and rational
skills, as an artful philosophising with materials, as arcane archive of
experimental practices, as an explosive pre-form of later interferences
of art and science, beginning with the assumption that the recourse of
Avant-Garde experimental practises to alchemical backgrounds and
undergrounds could be well-suited to opening up surprising perspectives
in the discussion.
Concept of the Conference:
If the old, pictorially rich, hermetic science of alchemical
experimentation in the 17th century went through a pervasive process of
methodical self-purification as an exclusion of a unpredictable, darkly
poetic surplus, then this development led, on the one hand, to the
rationalist-instrumental order of early laboratory chemistry, and, on
the other hand, to a rather underground dynamic of the cancellation,
conveyance, and modification of these poetical energies, which then
reappear in strange metamorphoses - for instance, in the context of the
romantic movement, or in the artistic, scientific and political projects
of the Avant-Gardes. The arch of a more or less conscious reception
extends from Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Novalis, Georg Christoph
Lichtenberg and Johann Wilhelm Ritter through the periods of the
'Gesamtkunstwerk' (total work of art), scientistic occultism, symbolism
and surrealism up to the media-technical performances of the
neo-Avant-Gardes.
Avant-Garde concepts in art, politics, and science of the 20th century
were seen - as opposed to the pressure of alienation and the fragmenting
violence of established modes of production - as a radical search for a
fundamentally different understanding of material and intellectual
production. New forms of activity, of sensual perception, of creative
communication, and handling of materials were concentrated in
programmatic notions of the experimental, of practical production and
design. This was never simply a matter of the quality of the product,
object, or work. At the centre of focus was rather the productive
process as such, the creative process, the expanded concept of art, the
'creative act' (Marcel Duchamp).
Paradoxically, many of the Avant-Garde's experimental
setups seem, on closer inspection, both totally modern and totally
antiquated. This particular tendency can be explained, not least, by the
intuitive, detectivistic, playful references to the histories of
experimenting, and the simultaneous demands for an all-encompassing
renewal, which should not only be distinguished from the acute
symptomatology of the present, but also from the inherited pathologies
of the past.
Explicable also as a reaction to an escalating
ritualisation of cultural processes of the European modern period, to a
massive habitualisation of ritual operations, Avant-Garde experimental
practices, on closer inspection, are repeatedly revealed as surprising
analogies to the matrix of ritualisation that has inscribed the orders
of experimental knowledge since the beginning of the early modern
period. It is no accident that Nam June Paik, John Cage, Joseph Beuys
and other experimental artists of the neo-Avant-Garde make explicit
references to those dimensions of alchemy, whose history is
characterised by an extraordinary diversity of ritual practices,
suitable for sharpening the attention for the interplay of ritual forms
in both nature and culture. Further references are made to methods of
purification, the analysis and synthesis of materials, to instruments,
equipment, and techniques of material and intellectual transformation,
of measuring and weighing as well the linguistic and material production
of formulations. Particularly interesting from a modern perspective are
also the manifold references of alchemical ideas and practices to the
human body, which had already resulted from the internal relation
between alchemy and medicine in the early modern period. Finally, for
Avant-Garde approaches in art and science, the alchemical style of
thought as the expression of a style of language, perception, and the
relation to the material world was also of particular interest. Against
such backgrounds, the Theatrum alchemicum, since its
'disappearance' from the immediate intellectual concerns of science,
art, politics, and everyday life, almost appears as a symbol for the
questioning of the standards of rationality to which Western progress as
a whole was oriented, and whose institutionalised universality must
appear questionable today.
The conference sees itself as part of our series
Theatrum Scientiarium, dedicated to the Performativity of
Knowledge in the cultural historical shift starting in the 17th
century, and focuses on Interferences of Art and Science. Here,
it has been productive to understand aesthetic, technical and political
experiments of the Avant-Garde movements as a programmatic counterpoint
to historical long-term processes, as the accumulator of radical
questions, which can be related, with heuristic profit, to cultures of
knowledge and art in the early modern period. The necessarily
coordinated conveyance of very different research perspectives through
dialogue can lead to very exciting impulses.
If the previous conferences were intent on sounding
out performative dimensions of new forms of knowledge in the 17th
century, then over the last two years, the relation of experimental
Avant-Garde movements to this historical field of investigation has been
brought into play; and, in fact, due to their programmatic heightening
of the experimental as a deconstruction of the historically established,
culture-forming limitations of view. Hence, our research on the relation
of art and science has been linked with a growing theoretical interest
in differences between notions of the (classical) experiment and the
(Avant-Garde) experimental. This theoretical foundation also served the
continual work on the methodologically founded notion of trace (with
reference to Carlo Ginzburg, Jacques Derrida, Sybille Krämer, among
others). In the light of such an approach, our attention was directed to
traces of the Avant-Garde in the Theatrum machinarum (2005) and
Theatrum anatomicum (2006). Our research should now be continued
with a view to the Theatrum alchemicum. Methodologically, our
approach of a cultural historical comparatistics should be developed,
giving the notions of the 'trace' and the 'experimental' an important
theoretical function. If, for instance, we understand Traces of the
Avant-Garde within the framework of the Theatrum alchemicum
as an illuminating counterpoint to the performative culture of knowledge
of the early modern period, it is not a matter of the instigation of a
teleological view of history, but rather the construction of a position
of theoretical distance.
The extensive preparation work carried out so far
allows, in relation to this, two dimensions to emerge that deserve
special attention: firstly, a 'philosophising with materials' in art and
science; and secondly, a 'systematic repression of poetic surplus' in
the course of a separation of artistic and scientific experimenting
emerging in the 17th century. If one understands the Theatrum
alchemicum in its model character, and in the culture-forming
breadth of its development, then the concepts and practical experiments
also deserve consideration which, through synthesis and combination,
instigate a revitalisation of alchemical total-designs intended as a
critique of outmoded styles of perception, movement, and language. These
counter-movements do not only relate to vitalist or chemical methods,
but often also to the problematic utopias of organic wholeness that
finally led, in the Avant-Garde movements, to different conceptions of
the Gesamtkunstwerk.
Three areas of focus should structure the theme of
the conference Traces of the Avant-Garde: Theatrum alchemicum:
1. Theatre of Materials
2. Great Work and 'Creative Act'
3. Separation-Art - Gesamtkunstwerk
The first section "Theatre of Materials" is dedicated to
experimental material culture of alchemy as well as the interferences of
epistemological and aesthetic processes emerging from this. With
alchemy, it is not only a matter of a body-based, but also a
poetical-theatrical art of metamorphosis. Markedly theatrical aspects
are mirrored in the texts as an echo of an oral tradition of the
spontaneous interplay of perception, movement and language. Special
mention is owed in this connection to the fact that the chemical
processes are linked to constant conflicts, dangers and moments of
surprise. This antagonism between materials, perspectives, signatures,
and processes is translated by many authors into a kind of "Theatre of
Materials."
The second section "Great Work and 'Creative Act'"
deals with a poetic dimension of the alchemical tradition, whose
distinct strength is cancelled by artists of the Avant-Garde in
extremely varied ways during the search for adequate forms of
productivity. A basic feature of alchemical philosophising with
materials is the manner in which every change of materials is
accompanied by a transformation in the alchemical experimenter.
Consistently at the centre of alchemical metamorphoses is the
microscopic movement-model of human life. In the case of Roger Bacon,
for instance, alchemical work closely resembled the creation of a man.
Included in a complex mirror system of allegorical and metaphorical
relations, alchemy has, since the beginning of the modern period, been
increasingly poetically charged. The fantasy of alchemical artists
during the production of allegories of cultural experience increases, in
addition, through the resistance of the medium of writing. The poetical
charging of alchemy is shown in dream images, riddles, chants and
verses. The practical importance of fantasy appearing in constellations
of image and text stands in a highly interesting relation to
Giambattista Vico's Scienza Nuova (1744), the first deep-rooted
attempt at a cultural history, where poetry, imagination, and fantasy
are asserted as the prime source of human knowledge. With this position,
however, Vico provocatively opposes the powerful tendency that, since
Descartes, have attempted to remap the space of knowledge based on
geometric-philosophical foundations under the sign of methodical form of
rationalisation. In Vico's counter design, too, differences and borders
are important, but they have a totally different quality, they mark the
places of contact, of transition, of interplay of a culture. However,
precisely this quality is already found in the poetic creation principle
of alchemy, and this developed in to enduring heuristic impulses that
eventually emerged in the projects of the Avant-Garde movements.
The third section "Separation-Art -
Gesamtkunstwerk" begins with the observation that the arcane,
paradoxical, dangerously spontaneous aspects of alchemical culture are
systematically excluded in the context of the Enlightenment. Under the
paradigm of writing culture, under the sign of a far-reaching
rationality, the standards of a "purified stage" were institutionalised.
Since the end of the 17th century, the tested practise of disassembling,
purification, sublimation of substances, has developed over centuries,
increasingly referred to the alchemical documents themselves. In the
mirror of its publicistic controversies, alchemy landed in a drastic
process of 'self-purification.' This 'purification' of alchemy led to a
history of repression, whose arcane trace can be followed into our own
period. Here, it is a matter of the continuance of 'poetical surplus.'
Around 1800, this was absorbed by Romantics such as Friedrich Schlegel,
Novalis, Friedrich Wilhelm Joseph Schelling and Johann Wilhelm Ritter.
In the Avant-Gardes of the 20th century, an effort can be felt
everywhere to explicitly oppose conventionalised separations and
differences in art and science through visions of synthesis and
wholeness. If, for instance, one considers Antonin Artaud's alignment of
theatre and alchemy, then his search for an 'other' theatre can be
understood as a radical critique that extends far beyond questions of
art.
Against the background of the field of investigation
sketched here, the conference should discuss questions touching on the
interchange of art and science, as well as questions that focus on the
cultural importance of the Theatrum alchemicum: How can the
numerous programmatic references of Avant-Garde art to the Theatrum
alchemicum be explained? To what extent do theses attempts at
wholeness, techniques of synthesis, experiences of materiality etc.
offer concrete points of reference for reflection? What anthropological
implications, what notions of subject and action are revealed in the
analysis of historical instances? Which basic transformations of alchemy
as a form of knowledge characterised largely by the interplay of
performance and emergence stood out in the 17th century? To what extent,
particularly in alchemical experiment, do certain traits of a 'poetics
of the experiment' appear, which are of great significance for the
understanding of decisive interferences of art and science?
Furthermore, to what extent is the intended
structuring of the field of investigation suited to the historical
grounding of a basic stocktaking of current interferences of art and
science? What types of operation can be found in the framework of the
Theatrum alchemicum? How are the notions of experiment and the
experimental affected by the implementation of the three different areas
of the Theatrum alchemicum? How, in the context of the
Theatrum alchemicum, is the relation between textuality and
performance materialised in the textual representation, visual
representation, and mathematical- symbolical formalisation of
experimental results? In each case, what is lost?
Download program (.pdf)
Register
Contact:
Prof. Dr. Helmar Schramm
Sonderforschungsbereich 447
"Kulturen des Performativen"
Freie Universität Berlin
Grunewaldstr. 35
12165 Berlin
Telf. (030) 838 503 10
Fax. (030) 838 503 21
e-mail:
theatred@zedat.fu-berlin.de
Exposition and Symposium
De wijze en de dwaas.
Nationaal Jenevermuseum, Hasselt (Belgium).
Exposition
De wijze en de dwaas. De alchemist in woord en beeld
Van 16 september 2007 tot 06 januari 2008
Het begon in de middeleeuwen. Alchemisten zochten in
hun donkere alchemistenkamers met de meest onwaarschijnlijke
instrumenten naar de steen der wijzen die lood in goud deed veranderen.
Ze waren op zoek naar een elixir dat de eeuwige jeugd zou brengen. Waren
het pseudo-wetenschappers die al hun geld verkwistten aan hun zogenaamde
onderzoek of waren het inderdaad scheikundigen avant la lettre? In ieder
geval was één van de resultaten van hun distillatie- en andere
technieken een drankje dat niet alleen verschillende kwaaltjes genas,
maar dat ook je zorgen deed vergeten. Zonder het te weten lagen de
alchemisten mee aan de basis van de borrel waar iedereen vandaag van
geniet.
Symposium
De wijze en de dwaas. De perceptie van de alchemist door de eeuwen
heen.
24 november 2007.
Symposium waarin verschillende verbanden tussen
alchemie, beeldende kunst én distilleerkunst belicht worden en nieuwe
inzichten hierover worden voorgesteld. In samenwerking met het
Genootschap voor de Geschiedenis der Geneeskunde, Wiskunde en
Natuurwetenschappen (GeWiNa) en de Koninklijke Vlaamse Chemische
Vereniging (sectie historiek).
Programma:
10.45 · 11.00 Ontvangst met koffie
11.00 · 11.05 Inleiding, prof. em. Hendrik
Deelstra,
Universiteit Antwerpen
11.05 · 11.35 Ontstaan en evolutie van de alchemie
in de
Nederlanden, prof. dr. Eric Van Schoonenberghe,
Katholieke Hogeschool Sint-Lieven Gent
11.35 · 12.05 Alchemist/Alghe mist. Het beeld van
de alchemist
in de zeventiende-eeuwse schilderkunst van de
Lage Landen, dr. Karolien De Clippel,
FWO-Vlaanderen
12.05 · 12.35 De collectie Brinkman: alchemisten
in de
prentkunst, prof. dr. Harry Snelders, Universiteit
Utrecht & Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam
12.35 · 13.35 lunch in het Borrelhuis
13.35 · 14.15 De wijze en de dwaas. De alchemist
in woord en
beeld. Rondleiding in de tentoonstelling,
Davy Jacobs, Nationaal Jenevermuseum
14.15 · 14.45 Isaac Hollandus, de alchemist van
Stolwijk?,
dr. Annelies van Gijsen,
Universiteit Gent & Universiteit Antwerpen
14.45 · 15.15 De alchemie van verfstoffen,
prof. dr. Ernst
Homburg, Universiteit Maastricht
15.15 · 15.45 Glauber and the Low Countries,
dr. Brigitte Van
Tiggelen, voorzitter Mémosciences
15.45 · … Receptie in het proeflokaal van het
Nationaal
Jenevermuseum
Waar? ’t Borrelhuis
(tegenover het Nationaal Jenevermuseum)
Deelnameprijs 15 euro (incl. broodjeslunch)
Inschrijvingen Nationaal Jenevermuseum, tel. 011-23 98 60 of
jenevermuseum@hasselt.be
Contact:
Nationaal Jenevermuseum
Witte Nonnenstraat 19
3500 Hasselt
tel. +32 (0)11 23 98 60
fax +32 (0)11 21 10 50
e-mail:
jenevermuseum@hasselt.be
Journée d’étude du 21 septembre 2007
Autour du fonds imprimé de la Maison de la chimie : perspectives de
valorisation, de diffusion et d’exploitation du patrimoine écrit
scientifique
Presentation:
Le GHDSO et la Bibliothèque Universitaire Sciences
d’Orsay organisent conjointement, le 21 septembre 2007, une journée
d’étude sur le fonds documentaire de la Maison de la Chimie, entré dans
les collections de la Bibliothèque Universitaire Sciences d’Orsay en
1964-1965.
Une exposition, retraçant l’histoire de ce fonds et de son intégration à
la Bibliothèque universitaire, complète cette journée.
Le fonds a été constitué par les bibliothèques des Sociétés adhérentes
de la Fondation de la Maison de la Chimie lors de sa constitution en
1927, lors de la célébration du Centenaire de Marcellin Berthelot
(1827-1907). Ces Sociétés restèrent propriétaires de leurs fonds propres
et contribuèrent à l’enrichir jusqu’en 1963. Une grande partie provenait
principalement des bibliothèques de la Société de chimie industrielle,
fondée en 1917, et de la Société chimique de France qui fête cette année
son 150e anniversaire.
Le Centre de Documentation Chimique (CDC), qui accueillait ces fonds,
mettait ainsi à la disposition des chimistes et des industriels des
moyens documentaires d’origine internationale, scientifiques et
techniques, très importants : environ 97 000 titres à la cession en 1964
dont environ 66 000 périodiques, et 31 000 monographies.
L’ensemble était classé de façon très originale, voulant ainsi appliquer
une idée organisatrice du travail scientifique.
Ce fonds d’une grande richesse patrimoniale peut nourrir d’une part des
études bibliothéconomiques, et d’autre part, les recherches des
historiens des sciences, plus particulièrement de la chimie, des
techniques et des industries chimiques de la fin du XIXe siècle à la
Seconde guerre mondiale. La collection contient beaucoup d’ouvrages
étrangers, de thèses, de monographies très spécialisées. Le CDC est un
des rares organismes à avoir rassemblé autant de documentation
spécialisée.
En 2007, l’Université Paris-Sud 11 a entrepris une réflexion sur la mise
en valeur de ce fonds. Cette journée d’étude du 21 septembre permettra
d’évoquer la question de la conservation et de l’exploitation
scientifique des fonds patrimoniaux spécialisés et d’en appréhender les
enjeux.
Programme:
9h Accueil
9h30 Allocutions d’ouverture
Alexandre Revcolevsci, Vice-Doyen de la Faculté des Sciences d’Orsay
(Sous
réserve)
Jean-Louis Lions, directeur du Service Commun de la Documentation
Laurence Lestel, Société chimique de France, présidente du club
d'histoire de la
chimie, maître de conférences au CDHTE-CNAM
Alain Fuchs, directeur de l'ENSCP : Hommage à Georges Bram
Chaque intervention de la matinée sera suivie de quelques minutes
réservées aux questions du public
10h Danielle Fauque, chercheur associée au GHDSO
Le Centre de Documentation de la Maison de la Chimie : une expérience
internationale de
mise en commun des ressources
10h45 Danielle Fauque, Françoise Delmas, Delphine
Coudrin
Présentation de l’exposition sur le fonds de la Maison de la Chimie
11h00 Pause
11h30-12h Natalie Pigeard, Coordinateur scientifique
du domaine "Sciences" de Gallica, Bibliothèque
Nationale de France
La numérisation du fonds de la Maison de la Chimie : historique, intérêt
pour l’historien,
complémentarités avec d’autres fonds
14h Virginie Champeau, maître de conférences au
Groupe d’Histoire et Diffusion des Sciences
d’Orsay
Perspectives d’exploitation du fonds de la Maison de la Chimie pour la
recherche en histoire
des sciences
14h30 Jacques Breysse, Société Française de Génie des
Procédés, chercheur associé au CDHTECNAM
(dir. A. Guillerme)
Centre de documentation de la SCI et revue Chimie et Industrie :
illustration de la prise en
compte en France des problèmes de l'industrie chimique entre les deux
guerres
15h Pause
15h30 Jean-François Vincent, responsable du service
d’histoire de la médecine à la Bibliothèque
InterUniversitaire de Pharmacie, Universités Paris 5 et Paris 6
Les fonds anciens scientifiques en bibliothèque : l’expérience de la
BIUM
16h00 Catherine Kounelis, responsable du centre de
ressources historiques de l’Ecole Supérieure
de Physique et de Chimie Industrielles
Conduire une action culturelle et patrimoniale dans un établissement
d'enseignement
supérieur et de recherche. Le cas des archives de l'ESPCI
16h30 Marie-Christine Thooris, Responsable du Centre
de Ressources Historiques de la
Bibliothèque Centrale de l’Ecole polytechnique
La conservation et la valorisation du Patrimoine scientifique de l'Ecole
Polytechnique
17h-17h30 Synthèse et perspectives : discussion
Animé par Hélène Gispert, Professeur, responsable du GHDSO
Informations pratiques :
Inscription gratuite avant le 17 septembre auprès de :
Mme Véronique LEDAY ALONSO
G.H.D.S.O. (Groupe d'Histoire et de Diffusion des Sciences d'Orsay)
Bâtiment 407 - Faculté des Sciences d'Orsay - 91405 Orsay Cedex
Tel. : 01 69 15 43 99 - Fax. : 01 69 15 43 98
veronique.leday@u-psud.fr
Possibilité de repas sur place, à préciser au moment de l’inscription
Adresse :
Centre universitaire d’Orsay
Bibliothèque universitaire, bât. 407
Accès : RER, station Orsay-Ville
Newsletter 09-2007. Bibliotheca Philosophica
Hermetica (BPH)
The BPH, founded in 1957 by J.R.
Ritman, is celebrating its 50th anniversary in October 2007. We will
inform you about the jubilee in a separate newsletter, but would like to
draw your attention now to recent acquisitions, a new exhibition, and
other library items to be seen on our website.
Jubilee year 2007, a new exhibition and a new publication
In October 2007 the library will open a new exhibition, called Jacob
Böhmes Weg in die Welt, devoted to the collection of manuscripts
and early printed books of Jacob Böhme (1575-1624) brought together by
businessman and Böhme adept Abraham Willemsz van Beyerland
(1586/7-1648). You will be more fully informed about the exhibition and
accompanying volume of essays Jacob Böhmes Weg in die Welt in a
separate newsletter, which will also focus on the library’s jubilee
activities in the autumn. For now, for more news about the exhibition
and publication please
see here.
Recent acquisitions
‘Treasures in heaven’, is how manuscripts were called by the people of
Armenia, the oldest Christian nation in the world. Armenia was
Christianized in 301, but there are early Christian influences before
that date. The Christian gnostic Bardaisan (154-222) for instance
retreated to Armenia (from where he derived one of his epithets, ‘the
Armenian’) at a time and preached Christianity there. In 425 the Bible
was translated into Armenian, from authentic copies brought from
Constantinople and Edessa. The BPH has very recently acquired a copy of
the Gospels in Armenian written around 1700, and another fascinating
medieval manuscript,
see here.
A fully refreshed ‘Hermetically Open’
The exhibition which opened in 2006 under the title ‘Hermetically Open’
offered a cross-section of the manuscripts and printed books, old and
modern, in the BPH’s collecting fields: Hermetica, Alchemy, Mysticism,
Rosicrucianism and Gnosis & Western Esotericism. This approach, which
has proved very popular, has now been refreshed with new books and
manuscripts from the collection. To read more about the refreshed
‘Hermetically Open’, which can be seen until the middle of October,
see here.
Hermes Trismegistus
Roelof van den Broek’s edition of Hermes Trismegistus. Inleiding,
teksten, commentaren, published in December 2006, has received a
great deal of attention in the national press. Two of the interviews
which appeared on the occasion of the publication of Hermes Trismegistus
are now available in an English translation,
see here. Hermes Trismegistus concludes the BPH’s project
of offering all known religious-philosophical Hermetic texts in Latin,
Greek and Coptic.
Tried and Tested
In 2004 the BPH mounted an exhibition called Tried and Tested: the
appreciation of Hermetic and alchemical manuscripts from the 15th-20th
centuries, an exhibition chronicling the course of the
alchemical-Hermetic tradition from its introduction to the Latin West in
the twelfth century well into the twentieth century. The authors in this
exhibition ranged from the Middle Ages (e.g. Morienus, Geber, Roger
Bacon) through the seventeenth century (Michael Maier, Thomas Vaughan,
George Starkey); but their works were copied into the twentieth century.
The latter part of the exhibition is devoted to the study of Hermetic
and alchemical authors initiated by A.E. Waite and his circle of friends
in the first half of the twentieth century, and is perfect proof of the
continuous appeal of the alchemical manuscript tradition.
See here.
Inspired by the Rosicrucians
A regular feature on the homepage of the BPH website is ‘In focus’,
presenting concise articles on books or authors from the collection. In
focus now is Johann Hörner, an early seventeenth-century alchemist and
kabbalist who produced a Problema summum, Mathematicum &
Cabalisticum (1619) which was indebted to the Rosicrucian
Fraternity. For the full text of the article
see here.
RENAISSANCE ASTROLOGY
Academic discussion on alstrology on BBC Radio 4.
Programme:
In Our Time, hosted by Melvyn Bragg
BBC Radio 4
June 14, 2007
9.00-9.45 am
Repeated 9.30pm
Presentation:
In Act I Scene II of King Lear, the ne’er do well Edmund steps forward
and rails at the weakness and cynicism of his fellow men:
This is the excellent foppery of the world, that,
when we are sick in fortune, - often the surfeit
of our own behaviour, - we make guilty of our
disasters the sun, the moon, and the stars: as
if we were villains by necessity.
The focus of his attack is astrology and the credulity those who fall
for its charms. But the idea that earthly life was ordained in the
heavens ran deep in the Renaissance mind, offering succour to the
lowliest farmhands and exercising the highest faculties of theologians
and philosophers. When Elizabeth I wanted to establish a propitious date
for her coronation, she asked her own astrologer, Dr John Dee.
But why did astrological ideas flourish in the period, how did
astrologers interpret and influence the course of events and what new
ideas eventually brought the astrological edifice tumbling down?
Contributors:
Peter Forshaw, Lecturer in Renaissance Philosophies at Birkbeck,
University of London.
Lauren Kassell, Lecturer in the History and Philosophy of Science at the
University of Cambridge.
Jonathan Sawday, Professor of English Studies at the University of
Strathclyde.
Listen now:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/history/inourtime/rams/inourtime_20070614.ram
It is a Real Audio Multi-format archive.
RealPlayer required.
THE NEEDHAM QUESTION
Academic discussion on BBC Radio 4.
Programme:
In Our Time, hosted by Melvyn Bragg
BBC Radio 4
October 19, 2006
9.00-9.45 am
Repeated 9.30pm
Presentation:
What do these things have in common? Fireworks, wood-block printing,
canal lock-gates, kites, the wheelbarrow, chain suspension bridges and
the magnetic compass. The answer is that they were all invented in
China, a country that, right through the Middle Ages, maintained a
cultural and technological sophistication that made foreign dignitaries
flock to its imperial courts for trade and favour. But then, around
1700, the flow of ingenuity began to dry up and even reverse as Europe
bore the fruits of the scientific revolution back across the globe.
Why did Modern Science develop in Europe when China seemed so much
better placed to achieve it? This is called the Needham Question, after
Joseph Needham, the 20th century British Sinologist who did more,
perhaps, than anyone else to try and explain it.
But did Joseph Needham give a satisfactory answer to the question that
bears his name? Why did China’s early technological brilliance not lead
to the development of modern science and how did momentous inventions
like gunpowder and printing enter Chinese society with barely a ripple
and yet revolutionise the warring states of Europe?
Contributors:
Chris Cullen, Director of the Needham Research Institute in Cambridge.
Tim Barrett, Professor of East Asian History at SOAS.
Frances Wood, Head of Chinese Collections at the British Library.
Listen now:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/history/inourtime/rams/inourtime_20061019.ram
It is a Real Audio Multi-format archive.
RealPlayer required.
Curator of Rare Books (Chemical Heritage Foundation)
The Chemical Heritage Foundation (CHF) seeks a dynamic person who is a
scholar in the history of pre-1900 chemical and molecular sciences,
broadly construed, to be Curator of Rare Books within its Othmer
Library. The Othmer Library collects, preserves, and makes accessible
materials relating to the history of chemical and molecular sciences,
technologies, and industries. The library is a key program area of CHF,
serving all who are interested in chemical history. CHF's mission is to
serve the community of the chemical and molecular sciences, and the
wider public, by treasuring the past, educating the present, and
inspiring the future. CHF maintains a world-class collection of
materials that document the history and heritage of the chemical and
molecular sciences, technologies, and industries; encourages research in
CHF collections; and carries out a program of outreach and
interpretation in order to advance an understanding of the role of the
chemical and molecular sciences, technologies, and industries in shaping
society.
The Othmer Library is a collection of more than 100,000 print volumes
dealing with all aspects and periods relating to chemical and molecular
sciences including the history of alchemy, chymistry, modern chemistry,
metallurgy, chemical engineering, radioactivity, chemical industries,
biochemistry, pharmaceuticals, and other related topics. The Library has
some 10,000 titles printed between 1478 and 1925 that serve as primary
sources for the history of chemical and allied sciences. The Roy G.
Neville Historical Chemical Library, a collection within the Othmer
Library, represents one of the richest single deposits of books on the
history of chemistry in the world. More information about the Library's
holdings can be found at our website, www.chemheritage.org.
The Curator of Rare Books will play an active role in collection
development and professional and academic outreach for the Othmer
Library. Reporting to the Director of the Othmer Library, the Curator of
Rare Books will:
- Implement the strategic plan and collections plan for the development
of a comprehensive collection of rare books and other printed primary
research materials related to the history of science, technology, and
industry, with special reference to the chemical sciences and
technologies, broadly defined.
- Help develop and work with the Othmer Library's uniform policies and
practices for the acquisition, care, and maintenance of CHF's rare book
holdings.
- Conduct, publish, and disseminate research relating to the Othmer
Library's rare book collections.
- Actively promote use of the Othmer Library's collections by traveling
to and participating in scholarly meetings with potential researchers.
- Provide advanced reference and research assistance to visiting
scholars, remote researchers, and other CHF constituents relating to the
Othmer Library's rare book and printed primary research collections.
- Facilitate interactions between CHF fellows, CHF staff, outside
constituents (such as curators, book dealers, donors, researchers, and
affiliates), and the Othmer Library staff. This may include intensive
contact with constituents such as board members and donors, interactions
that may require a good deal of diplomacy and tact.
- Provide tours of the Library and intimate discussions about the rare
book collections to VIPs in order to engage and excite them about the
Othmer Library and its importance to CHF and the entire chemical
science, engineering, and historical communities.
- Serve as the main liaison for CHF visiting scholars upon their arrival
to take up residency at CHF. Helps coordinate visiting scholars'
activities with the Director of the Othmer Library and CHF Events staff.
- Oversee the series of Brown-Bag Lunch talks at CHF including their
scheduling and hosting duties for guest lecturers.
- Contribute to public understanding of CHF's rare book holdings by
contributing to various CHF historical, educational, and exhibition
projects and by regularly contributing to Chemical Heritage magazine.
- Contribute to the advancement of CHF's mission at large by sitting on
institution-wide committees and by being present at appropriate programs
and public events, such as CHF receptions, lectures, and conferences.
The ideal candidate has the following qualifications and interests:
- Ph.D. or equivalent with a publication history on some aspects of
pre-twentieth century chemical sciences broadly construed.
- An MLS or its equivalent in experience with rare books or special
collections.
- Experience in publishing and presenting scholarly and popular works
using rare books and manuscripts as source material.
- Excellent oral and written skills in English and a successfully
demonstrated ability to speak convincingly in public as well as full
computer literacy.
- Familiarity with reference works and secondary literature, both
printed and electronic, in history of science and rare books.
- Some understanding of bibliographic description and control within a
rare book and special collections context.
- Knowledge of one or more Western European languages, preferably Latin,
German, or French.
- Conversant knowledge of the history of printing, publishing, and book
trade.
- Knowledge of technology and its application to rare books and special
collections.
- Ability to work collegially and flexibly with library and research
staff and donors.
- Eager to work in a fast-paced environment.
CHF offers competitive retirement, medical, dental, and vision benefits.
Women and minorities are encouraged to apply. CHF is an
equal-opportunity employer.
Review of applications begins on 1 July 2007 and will continue until the
position is filled. Electronic applications are preferred; please email
a cover letter, C.V., writing sample, and contact information for two
references to:
rbc@chemheritage.org.
If necessary, mail or fax any materials to:
Ronald Brashear, Chemical Heritage Foundation, 315 Chestnut Street,
Philadelphia, PA 19106. Fax: 215-629-5284.
2009 DHS PRIZE FOR YOUNG SCHOLARS
International Union of the History and Philosophy of Science
Division of History of Science AND TECHNOLOGY (IUHPS/DHST)
The International Union of the History and Philosophy of Science,
Division of History of Science and Technology (IUHPS/DHST) invites
submissions for the first DHST Prize for Young Scholars, to be presented
in 2009. The DHST Prize is awarded by IUHPS/DHST every four years to
four young historians of science and technology for outstanding doctoral
dissertations, completed after July 2004. One prize is awarded in each
of the following fields:
- Western civilization
- Islamic civilization
- East Asian civilization
- South Asian civilization.
- Ancient civilizations (not included in the above categories)
Each prize consists of a certificate and coverage of travel and
accommodation expenditures to the IUHPS/DHST Congress in Budapest in
July 2009.
DHST PRIZE COMMITTEE
The selection committee comprises the DHST President, the DHST
Vice-President, the DHST Secretary General, and distinguished
specialists in the specific fields.
COMPETITION CALENDAR
Submission deadline: 31 August 2008
Prize Committee meeting: January 2009
Award Ceremony: July 2009.
CONDITIONS
Eligibility: Applicants must have a doctoral degree in the history of
science or technology awarded no earlier than July 2004.
Scope: The entries must be on the history of science or technology in
Western civilization, Islamic civilization, East Asian civilization,
South Asian civilization, or antiquity.
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: Applications must be made in English and received
at the Office of the DHST President no later than 31 August 2008:
Prof. Ronald L. Numbers (rnumbers@wisc.edu)
Department of Medical History and Bioethics
1300 University Avenue
Madison, WI 53706-1532, USA
Theses on alchemy and related subjects.
A list of postgraduate dissertations in France recently completed. The
information collected is as follows: author’s name; title; degree;
institution and department; supervisor(s); date of completion; abstract
(if case).
Source: José Rodríguez
Guerrero (Azogue editor)
----------------------------
Title : Vers une histoire de l'alchimie médiévale en Occident, du
domaine de la scolastique à celui du pouvoir temporel, avec une édition
critique de la Disputatio attribuée à Michel Scot [Texte imprimé] /
Benjamin Fauré ; sous la direction de Bernard Doumerc
Mémoire ou thèse (version d'origine)
Title's alphabet : latin
Author(s) : Fauré, Benjamin (1977-....). Auteur
Doumerc, Bernard. Directeur de thèse
Université de Toulouse-Le Mirail. Université de soutenance
Date(s) : 2006
Language(s) : French
Country : France
Publisher(s) : [S.l.] : [s.n.], 2006
Description : 3 vol. (646 f.) : ill. ; 30 cm
National Thesis number : 2006TOU20017
Dissertation : Thèse doctorat : Histoire : Toulouse 2 : 2006
Notes : Publication autorisée par le jury
Schedules : Bibliogr. f. 60-635
Abstract : Le traité de la Disputatio Scoti est un exemple
supplémentaire d'alchimie savante proche de la scolastique. Afin de
mieux comprendre ce texte, il était nécessaire de considérer la place de
l'alchimie dans la société médiévale occidentale et de donner une vue
d'ensemble cohérente et détaillée de la question (les travaux existant
sur ce thème sont bien souvent synthétiques et manquent d'unité). Mon
étude est donc tout d'abord consacrée aux relations de l'alchimie avec
la scolastique et traite plus largement des opinions sur cet art
exprimées par les savants et les philosophes. Tout en présentant les
contextes historiques et économiques durant lesquels se posent les
questions de la fabrication de l'or artificiel et d'un élixir de longue
vie, je décris ensuite les rapports connus entretenus par les princes
laïques et ecclésiastiques avec l'alchimie. Une troisième partie traite
de la Disputatio faussement imputée à Michel Scot, en propose un
commentaire et une édition critique.
The treatise of Disputatio Scoti is an additional example of an erudite
alchemy in close conformity with the Scholastic philosophy. To better
understand this text, we must examine the standing of alchemy within
Western medieval society and present a coherent and detailed overview of
this issue (existing works on this theme are often too synthetic or
inconsistent). My study therefore focuses on the links between alchemy
and the Scholastic philosophy as viewed by scholars and philosophers.
After presenting the historical and economic context in which the
questions for producing gold artificially and discovering a long-life
elixir arose, I highlight the known connections between the lay and
ecclesiastic princes and alchemy. The third part of my thesis deals with
a comment and a critical edition of the Disputatio, wrongly ascribed to
Michel Scot.
Alternative title(s) : Toward a history of medieval alchemy in the West
from the Scholastic philosophy to temporal power, with a critical
edition of Diputatio ascribed to Michel Scot
----------------------------
Title : Alchimie et pharmacie [Texte imprimé] : contribution de
l'alchimie à la genèse du médicament / Fabien Danicourt ; [sous la
direction de] Monsieur. M. Brazier
Mémoire ou thèse (version d'origine)
Title's alphabet : latin
Author(s) : Danicourt, Fabien (1975). Auteur
Brazier, Michel. Directeur de thèse
Université de Picardie Jules Verne. Université de soutenance
Date(s) : 2005
Language(s) : French
Country : France
Publisher(s) : [S.l.] : [s.n.], 2005
Description : 1 vol. (81 f.) : ill. ; 30 cm
National Thesis number : 2005AMIE027
Dissertation : Thèse d'exercice : Pharmacie : Amiens : 2005
Notes : Autorisation de publication délivrée par le jury
Schedules : Bibliogr. f. 78-81
Abstract : Le savoir ramené d'Orient et de l'Egypte ptolémaïque par les
Arabes constitue la base du corpus alchimique traditionnel occidental.
Les théories alchimiques ont des principes ontologiques identiques,
faisant intervenir l'unité de la matière et de l'univers, deux puis
trois principes (Soufre et Mercure, puis Sel), quatre éléments, la
quintessence (partie la plus pure et active) et sept métaux. Les
alchimistes utilisaient un langage voilé pour plusieurs raisons :
cryptographique, mais aussi initiatique. L'obscurité de ce langage a
suscité de nombreuses interprétations, souvent erronnées, débouchant sur
des découvertes médicinales intéressantes, venues s'ajouter à celles
directement dues à l'alchimie. B. Valentin et Paracelse, en inventant la
spagyrie, marquent un tournant dans l'histoire de l'alchimie et de la
future pharmacologie, en donnant une description plus concrète de la
notion de quintessence, correspondant à celle de principe actif. De
nombreuses substances, essentiellement d'origine métallique ou minérale,
sont encore utilisées comme médicament et proviennent de recherches
alchimiques. Les sels d'or suivent par exemple un chemin surprenant :
utilisés sous forme d'or potable, puis en photographie et enfin pour
traiter la polyarthrite rhumatoïde. A ceci s'ajoutent des matériels
encore présents dans nos laboratoires. Le caractère synthétique de
l'alchimie, sa recherche d'une panacée et ses symboles ont fait de la
pharmacie moderne l'héritière historique et méconnue de l'antique
alchimie. On peut le vérifier par les emblèmes, l'attitude, l'esprit et
les enjeux publiques ou éthiques de la pharmacie moderne.
----------------------------
Title : Étude de la représentation du discours alchimique dans la
fiction au XXème siècle à travers des exemples tirés des oeuvres de René
Barjavel, Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, Italo Calvino, Umberto Eco, Paulo
Coelho, Marguerite Yourcenar, Michel Butor [Texte imprimé] / Toussaint
Étienne Balbi ; thèse dirigée par Jean Bessière
Mémoire ou thèse (version d'origine)
Title's alphabet : latin
Author(s) : Balbi, Toussaint Étienne (1972-....). Auteur
Bessière, Jean (1943-....). Directeur de thèse
Université de la Sorbonne nouvelle-Paris III. Université de soutenance
Université de la Sorbonne nouvelle-Paris III. UFR de littérature
générale et comparée. Université de soutenance
Date(s) : 2005
Language(s) : French
Country : France
Publisher(s) : [S. l.] : [s. n.], 2005
Description : 2 vol. (539 f.) : ill. en noir et en coul. ; 30 cm
National Thesis number : 2005PA030080
Dissertation : Thèse de doctorat : Littérature générale et comparée :
Paris 3 : 2005
Notes : Publication autorisée par le jury
Schedules : Bibliogr. f. 523-537
Abstract : Cette recherche des liens entre alchimie et fiction
littéraire se conçoit comme un parcours à travers les oeuvres de sept
auteurs (successivement : Barjavel, Saint-Exupéry, Calvino, Eco, Coelho,
Yourcenar, Butor) de manière à déterminer les conditions d'échange entre
l'imaginaire propre à la cosmogonie alchimique et l'univers fictionnel
composé par chacun. En partant des textes qui proposent des parentés
d'imaginaire, involontaires, jusqu'à ceux dont la mise en représentation
du processus du Grand OEuvre devient mimétique, il s'agira d'obtenir une
vue d'ensemble qui permettrait, en dégageant les invariants de la
configuration narrative et de la demande de sens des textes pris comme
un tout global, d'émettre une grille de lecture générale proposant des
critères précis. Ayant ainsi défini les principes de fiction alchimique
comme d'un nouvel objet littéraire, cet ensemble de critères permettrait
alors, en s'appliquant à tout nouveau texte, de le reconnaître ou non
comme fiction alchimique. Cette entreprise comparative permettra de
réfléchir aux échanges entre la littérature et les discours qui lui sont
exogènes, pour comprendre comment elle les reproduit et les multiplie.
The research of the connections between alchemy and literature shall be
considered as a way through the literary works of seven authors
(successively: Barjavel, Saint-Exupéry, Calvino, Coelho, Eco, Yourcenar,
Butor), in order to determine the conditions of exchange between the
imaginary of alchemic cosmogony and the fictional universe created by
each author. This research, starting from the texts which propose
involuntary relatives of imaginary to those which representation of the
Grand Oeuvre becomes mimetic, should provide for a global view of the
phenomenon of alchemy in literature which would allow, by releasing
semantic invariants from narrative configuration and from the request of
sense of the texts, to create general reading guidelines, proposing
accurate criteria. These criteria, by defining the principals of an
alchemic fiction as a new literary object would allow, being applied to
any new text, to consider such new text as an alchemic fiction or not.
This comparative exercise shall allow reflecting the exchange between
literature and its exogenous speeches, in order to understand how
literature reproduces and multiplies such speeches.
Alternative title(s) : Study of representation of the alchemic speech in
the XXth century fiction, throught examples from the works of René
Barjavel, Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, Italo Calvino, Umberto Eco, Paulo
Coelho, Marguerite Yourcenar, Michel Butor
----------------------------
Title : Ibn Sina et la traduction du Resâle Nafs (Traité du souffle).
Texte imprimé / Farhard Mahmoudi ; sous la dir. du Pr. Louis-Paul
Fischer
Mémoire ou thèse (version d'origine)
Title's alphabet : latin
Author(s) : Mahmoudi, Farhad (1962-....). Auteur
Fischer, Louis Paul. Directeur de thèse
Université Claude Bernard (Lyon). Université de soutenance
Date(s) : 2003
Language(s) : French
Country : France
Publisher(s) : [S.l.] : [s.n.], 2003
Description : 153 f. : ill. ; 30 cm
National Thesis number : 2003LYO1M255
Dissertation : Thèse d'exercice : Médecine : Lyon 1, Lyon-Sud : 2003
Schedules : 58 Réf. bibliogr.
----------------------------
Title : L'Alchimie en Allemagne de 1790 à 1840 [Texte imprimé] : un
savoir et ses transpositions littéraires / Annie Zdenek ; sous la dir.
de Christine Maillard
Mémoire ou thèse (version d'origine)
Title's alphabet : latin
Author(s) : Zdenek, Annie. Auteur
Pflieger-Maillard, Christine (1956-....). Directeur de thèse
Université Marc Bloch (Strasbourg). Université de soutenance
Date(s) : 2003
Language(s) : French
Country : France
Publisher(s) : [S.l.] : [s.n.], 2003
Description : 431 f. : ill. ; 30 cm
National Thesis number : 2003STR20014
Dissertation : Thèse doctorat : Etudes germaniques modernes et
contemporaines : Strasbourg 2 : 2003
Notes : Publication autorisée par le jury
Schedules : Bibliogr. f. 366-408. Index
Abstract : La présente analyse se propose déxaminer les représentations
alchimiques et leur fonction dans des textes littéraires de l¤poque
romantique allemande et du début du réalisme, période s¤tendant de la
dernière décade du 18ème siècle aux années 40 du 19ème siècle: les
Fragments de Novalis, Faust et les affinités électives de Goethe, les
Contes nocturnes dÉ.T.A. Hoffmann, les Contes du Phantasus et les
Nouvelles de Dresde de Ludwig Tieck constituent notre corpus. La fin du
18ème siècle est un temps de renouveau alchimique dans les pays
allemands: à travers la littérature rosicrucienne et théosophique du
17ème siècle, les écrivains símprègnent de la pensée du médecin
Paracelse (1493-1541). Lálchimie est un concept-clé de sa vision du
monde: il la conçoit comme une sotériologie qui inclut le devenir de
l¤omme et du cosmos. En même temps, la période étudiée est une
époque-charnière marquée par le passage de la féodalité à l¤re
industrielle qui remodèle en profondeur le paysage culturel. De
nouvelles sciences apparaissent, comme la psychologie qui empiète sur le
domaine traditionnel de la littérature: la représentation de l¤omme,
contraignant celle-ci à redéfinir sa fonction culturelle: se
contentera-t-elle d¤tre la réceptrice des nouveaux savoirs ou
cherchera-t-elle à créer elle-même des modèles dínterprétation de l¤omme
et du monde ? Comment justifier dès lors líntérêt de l¤lite cultivée
pour une science traditionnelle qui se manifeste par la présence
permanente dans les oeuvres de motifs alchimiques ? La thèse montrera
que le paradigme alchimique ne remplit pas seulement une fonction
esthétique, mais quíl sert aussi une idéologie et une épistémologie:
support dúne réflexion sur la connaissance de l¤omme et de la nature, il
révèle les réticences de la littérature à l¤gard du discours
scientifique en même temps que sa volonté de participer, par la création
de nouveaux modèles anthropologiques, à l¤laboration de la modernité.
This thesis examines alchemy and its function in literary works from the
German Romantic epoch to the beginning of Realism, a period which lasts
from the last decade of the 18th century to the forties of the 19th
century : Novalis'Fragmente, Goethe's Faust and Wahlverwandtschaften,
E.T.A. Hoffmann's Nachtstücke, Ludwig Tieck's Phantasus Märchen and
Dresdner Novellen form the body of the thesis...
Alternative title(s) : Alchemy in Germany from 1790 to 1840 : a science
and its transfer to literature
----------------------------
Title : Paracelse : médecin-pharmacien, trait d'union entre l'empirisme
thérapeutique et la science du médicament [Texte imprimé] / Olivier
Maillard ; sous la dir. de Guy Ledouble
Mémoire ou thèse (version d'origine)
Title's alphabet : latin
Author(s) : Maillard, Olivier (1967-....). Auteur
Ledouble, Guy. Directeur de thèse
Université de Reims Champagne-Ardenne. Bibliothèque. Section santé.
Université de soutenance
Date(s) : 2002
Language(s) : French
Country : France
Publisher(s) : [S.l.] : [s.n.], 2002
Description : 50f. ; 30 cm
National Thesis number : Thèse : 2002REIMP059
Dissertation : Thèse d'exercice : Pharmacie : Reims : 2002 ; 59
Notes : Publication autorisée par le jury
Schedules : Bibliogr. f.46-47
----------------------------
Title : "Le Grand Olympe", poème alchimique inédit (XVIè-XVIIè siècles)
[Texte imprimé] : édition critique et commentée / par Noël Chapuis ;
[sous la dir. de] Jean Céard
Mémoire ou thèse (version d'origine)
Title's alphabet : latin
Author(s) : Chapuis, Noël. Auteur
Céard, Jean (1936-....). Directeur de thèse
Université de Paris-Nanterre. éditeur scientifique
Date(s) : 2001
Language(s) : French
Country : France
Publisher(s) : [S.l.] : [s.n.], 2001
Description : 4 vol. (870 p.) ; 30 cm
National Thesis number : Thèse : 2001PA100195
Dissertation : Thèse de doctorat : Lettres modernes : Paris 10 : 2001
Notes : Thèse reproduite
Schedules : Bibliogr. p. 830-847
Abstract : Edition critique du "Grand Olympe, ou philosophie poétique
attribuée au très renommé Ovide", traité d'alchimie (XVI°-XVII° siècles)
attribué à Pierre Vitecoq (ou Vicot), alchimiste de Flers (Orne), qui
constitue la première interprétation alchimique française des
"Métamorphoses" d'Ovide; ce traité composé de trois parties distinctes
(un poème de 2376 vers octosyllabiques en rimes plates ou suivies et
deux commentaires en prose) possède une disposition en trois colonnes.
Il offre la première interprétation alchimique des "Emblèmes" d'André
Alciat, contribue au développement du mythe de Nicolas Flammel
alchimiste et forme une véritable "mythographie alchimique". La présente
édition critique s'intéresse, dans la préface, aux alchimistes de Flers
et à l'auteur présumé du traité, expose les probl¤mes de datation et
d'attribution de ce dernier, rend compte des diverses lectures
mythographiques dans l'Antiquité, insiste sur l'allégorie, la
mythographie et la fortune d'Ovide au Moyen Age et à la Renaissance,
avant de décrire précisément chaque manuscrit...
Critical edition of "Le Grand Olympe, ou philosophie poétique attribuée
au très renommé Ovide", treatise on alchemy (16th-17th centuries)
attributed to Pierre Vitecoq (or Vicot), alchemist from Flers
(Orne,Normandy), which is the first French alchemichal interpretation of
Ovid's "Metamorphosis"; this treatise is composed of three distinct
parts: a poem of 2376 octosyllable verses in rhyming couplets and two
commentaries in prose. It gives the first alchemichal interpretation af
André Alciat's "Emblèmes", contributes to the developpemnt of the myth
of Nicholas Flamel alchemist and constitutes a real alchemichal
mythography. This critical edition, in its preface, discourses upon the
alchemists from Flers and the presumed author of this treatise, exposes
its problems of datation and attribution, shows the different
mythographic readins in Antiquity, insists on allegory, mythography and
Ovid's success in Middle Ages and in Renaissance, before a precise
description of each of the manuscripts we have examinated...
Alternative title(s) : "Le Grand Olympe", unpublished alchemical poem
(16th-17th centuries) : critical and commented edition
----------------------------
Title : L'or potable / par Jean-Sébastien Becker; sous la dir. de
Jean-Armand Martin
Mémoire ou thèse (version d'origine)
Title's alphabet : latin
Author(s) : Becker, Jean-Sébastien
Martin, Jean-Armand. Directeur de thèse
Date(s) : 2001
Language(s) : French
Country : France
Publisher(s) : [S.l.] : [s.n.], 2001
National Thesis number : 2001NAN10002
Dissertation : Thèse d'exercice : Pharmacie : Nancy 1 : 2001
----------------------------
Title : Le symbolisme de la force vitale en chine ancienne : modeles et
significations dans l'alchimie taoiste operatoire (etudes des pratiques
alchimiques du baopuzi neipian) / dae yeol kim ; sous la dir. de michel
meslin
Mémoire ou thèse (version d'origine)
Title's alphabet : latin
Author(s) : Kim, Dae-Yeol. Auteur
Meslin, Michel (1926-....). Directeur de thèse
Date(s) : 2000
Language(s) : French
Country : France
Publisher(s) : [S.l.] : [s.n.], 2000
Description : 459 p.
National Thesis number : 2000PA040148
Dissertation : Thèse de doctorat : Sciences des religions : Paris 4 :
2000
Notes : Publication autorisée par le jury
Schedules : 695 ref.
Abstract : Notre etude concerne le baopuzi neipian, l'une des sources
principales de l'histoire de l'alchimie chinoise, qui date du quatrieme
siecle. notre but consiste a comprendre les premiers alchimistes en
chine, leurs idees et leurs pratiques presentees dans cet ouvrage, a
travers les modeles ou elements symboliques relies aux mysteres que les
alchimistes taoistes percoivent dans le monde invisible. lesymbole du
soleil attache a la representation de la force vitale et celui de l'eau
attache a la representation de la transformation constituent les sujets
principaux. apres avoir presente d'abord les idees taoistes
cosmologiques qui sous-tendent la pratique alchimique, et la quete de
l'immortalite qui constitue l'ethos des chinois et qui a un etroit
rapport avec l'alchimie, nous examinons les traits essentiels de
l'alchimie a la lumiere de la mythologie chinoise. dans des themes
mythologiques et religieux relevant du niveau ancestral de la culture
chinoise, nous retrouvons certaines idees fondamentales ayant trait a la
<< terre vivante >> et au << soleil divin >>, entre autres. l'etude
suivante porte sur les rites dans lesquels l'alchimiste prepare non
seulement la transformation des matieresmais aussi sa propre
transformation. nous analysons enfin les matieres principales employees
dans les recettes et les recettes elles-memes. le but consiste a montrer
comment chacune des matieres et des procedures contribue a la
preparation des elixirs, non seulement des points de vue technique et
chimique mais surtout du point de vue symbolique. selon nous, le mercure
et le plomb jouent le role d'intermediaires dans la transformation des
matieres en elixir et la calefaction de l'elixir presente une analogie
avec le cycle du soleil durant l'annee. dans une seconde partie, nous
analysons d'environ 60 recettes alchimiques presentees dans le baopuzi
et dans des sources connexes. elle se termine par un glossaire des
termes techniques trouves dans les recettes.
Other edition in another medium : Le symbolisme de la force vitale en
Chine ancienne [Microforme] : modèles et significations dans l'alchimie
taoïste opératoire (étude des pratiques alchimiques du Baopuzi Neipian /
par Dae-Yeol Kim. - Lille : Atelier national de Reproduction des Thèses,
2001
Alternative title(s) : Symbolism of vital force in ancient china. models
and significations in taoist laboratory alchemy (studies on the
alchemical practices of baopuzi neipian)
Philosophy Summer School in China
2007 Session: Ancient Greek Philosophy
Shandong University, Jinan
23 July–11 August 2007
- Dr. Melissa Lane (King’s College, Cambridge, UK):
Platos Republic.
- Dr. Cristina Viano (Sorbonne, Université de Paris, Sorbonne & CNRS,
France):
The Contept of Matter in Ancient Greek Philosophy.
- Associate Professor Jiyuan Yu (University at Buffalo, USA):
Aristotle's Metaphysics.
- Professor Carlo Natali (Università di Venezia “Ca’ Foscari”, Italy):
The Nicomachean Ethics.
-----------------------------
The Concept of Matter in Ancient Greek Philosophy:
From the Presocratics to the Greek Alchemists
Cristina Viano, Université de Paris-Sorbonne & CNRS
This course will focus on the notion of matter in Greek thought from the
Presocratics to the Neoplatonic Commentators and Greek Alchemists. The
main protagonist of this history is Aristotle, who was the first to
define and name the philosophical concept of matter (hulê). After
Aristotle, the Commentators tried to explain and develop his notion of
matter and to establish a convergence with Plato's theory of material
principle. In particular, one of the most interesting interpretations of
the Aristotelian concept of matter is at the origin of the revolutionary
theory of transmutation, coined by the Greek Alchemists in Alexandria.
The course will begin with a methodological introduction and then cover
the following stages:
Lecture 1: Introduction: Definitions of Matter
Lectures 2 & 3: The Principles of the Cosmos: The Presocratics
Lectures 4 & 5: Space and the Elements: Plato, Timaeus
Lectures 6 & 7: Physical Matter and Prime Matter: Aristotle
Lecture 8: The Enigma of Prime Matter: The Neoplatonic Commentators
Lecture 9: Making Gold with Aristotle: Transmutation in the Greek
Alchemists
Lecture 10: Conclusions
Course Text:
Reading will be drawn from
G.S. Kirk, J.E. Raven, M. Schofield, The Presocratic Philosophers,
Cambridge University Press, 1983.
Plato: Timaeus in J.M. Cooper (ed.) Plato: Complete Works, Hackett,
1997.
The Complete Works of Aristotle: The Revised Oxford Translation (ed. By
J. Barnes, Princeton University Press, 2 vols.).
R. Sorabji, The Philosophy of the Commentators, 200-600 AD. A
Sourcebook, Duckworth, 2004, vol. 2: Physics.
I shall distribute some specific articles for each period. For an
interesting introduction to
the problems of matter, in the perspective of the modern physics, see R.
Sorabji, Matter, Space and Motion. Theories in Antiquity and Their
Sequel, Cornell University Press, 1988, particularly Chapter I: Matter.
-----------------------------
Each member will receive the course texts for the lecture courses. In
addition to the courses, there will be smaller Reading Groups and an
informal Common Room. Members must attend all required instruction and
submit an examination essay at the end of the session.
The fee for members from outside Mainland China is US$ 150.00 or RMB
Y1200.00. Members must arrange their own transport to Beijing and pay
for accommodation and meals at Shandong University, Jinan.
Please send your completed application form to arrive by post or email
to:
Dr.Guo Peng
School of Philosophy and Social Development
Shandong University
No.5, Hong Jia Lou
Jinan, 250100
Shandong Province, CHINA
E-mail: guopeng@sdu.edu.cn
The deadline for application is 20 May 2007.
Click here for more information and application forms
Call
for papers
Medieval Science Colloquium
Boston College on 25-26 May 2007
After a gap of many years, there are tentative plans
to hold a "Medieval Science Colloquium" at Boston College the weekend of
May 25-27, 2007. This would be the seventh in a series that met twice at
Harvard University at the instigation of John Murdoch, then moved to the
Research Triangle area of North Carolina, and finally to St. Johns
University in Collegeville, Minnesota. For purposes of the colloquium,
"medieval science" is defined broadly and includes all areas of natural
philosophy, logic, theology, medicine, alchemy, mathematics, and so
forth. An attempt will be made to find moderately priced housing for the
nights of the conference. All are encouraged to take part young and old
– and especially graduate students. If you would like to participate,
offer a paper, or just to be informed as plans develop, please email
Bill Newman at Indiana University
wnewman@indiana.edu , Edith Sylla at North Carolina State University
Edith_Sylla@ncsu.edu and/or
Stephen Brown at Boston College
brownst@bc.edu (best of all, email one of us and copy the other
two).
Curso de Especialización en Historia de la
Alquimia
La Alquimia en los orígenes de la Química
Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana-Azcapotzalco
23-27 de abril 2007
Instructor:
Dr. Joaquín Pérez Pariente. Director del Instituto de Catálisis y
Petroleoquímica del C.S.I.C. (Madrid)
Presentación:
En el imaginario popular, la alquimia se asocia a prácticas ocultas
relacionadas con la magia y la hechicería, más que con la verdadera
ciencia. Desde el mundo académico, a menudo se le reconoce su valor sólo
como precursora de la química moderna. Sin embargo, las investigaciones
históricas más recientes nos permiten dibujar un panorama mucho más
completo y coherente, a la par que complejo, de las actividades humanas
relacionadas con la alquimia, que poco tienen que ver con aquellas ideas
preconcebidas. En este curso se revisarán los orígenes y evolución
histórica de la alquimia, desde la antigua China y el Egipto grecolatino
hasta nuestros días. Se analizará su relación con las prácticas
artesanales protoquímicas de la antigüedad, y con distintas corrientes
filosóficas, y se resaltará su papel en el nacimiento y evolución de la
química moderna, y su enorme influencia en el desarrollo de la cultura
occidental. Para ello, se hará un amplio uso de medios audiovisuales y
se preparará una abundante documentación, incluyendo una colección de
numerosas y raras imágenes alquímicas, que se entregará a los alumnos al
comienzo del curso.
El objetivo del Curso es proporcionar una visión
general del desarrollo de actividades y creencias conectadas con el
origen de la química, desde la antigüedad hasta finales del siglo XVIII.
Programa:
El curso consta de dos bloques docentes.
En el primero se expondrá el origen y evolución histórica de las
prácticas y filosofías prequímicas.
En el segundo, de carácter temático, se analizará la relación de la
protoquímica y la alquimia con la ciencia y la medicina, y su influencia
en el arte y la cultura occidental.
Duración del Curso:
20 horas lectivas. 9:00 a 13:00 23-27 abril de 2007
Inscripción:
Ordinaria: $1000.00 MN
Reducida (Profesores UAM): $500.00; (Estudiantes): $100.00
Lugar de Celebración:
Sala F001 Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana-Azcapotzalco
Información y Matrícula:
Dra. Julia Aguilar / Dra. Violeta Mugica
Edificio G-Bis 1er Piso, UAM-Azcapotzalco
Av. San Pablo 180, Col Reynosa, CP 02200
Teléfono: 5318-9570
Fax: 5318-9000, ext 2088
E-mail: vma@correo.azc.uam.mx
http://www.azc.uam.mx/cbi/quimica/aplicada
http://www.acat.org.mx
Call for papers
ISIH Conference, 17-20 April 2007. Topic: Models of Intellectual
History.
Birkbeck College, University of London
The next meeting of the International Society for the Intellectual
History will be held at Birkbeck College, University of London, Tuesday
17 to Friday 20 April 2007. The topic will be ‘Models of Intellectual
History’, and we are keen that this conference engage the broad range of
our members' interests. Papers that were originally intended for the
Salonika conference can be presented at this conference, and Lia Yoka
will be organising the appropriate sessions.
We are inviting proposals for sessions of 3-5 papers,
which we especially encourage, as well as individual papers. Proposals
for sessions should be accompanied by the session title, name of
organiser, and 100-200 word abstracts of the papers. Proposals for
individual papers should be accompanied by 100-200 word abstracts. All
papers should be in the region of 30 minutes. Proposals for sessions
should reach the organisers by 1 November. Proposals for papers should
reach them by 1 December. Please send all proposals as attachments to
both organisers, Stephen Clucas s.clucas@bbk.ac.uk, and
Stephen Gaukroger stephen.gaukroger@arts.usyd.edu.au.
Remember that only ISIH members can present papers. If you are not a
member already, please join us! From 2007 membership automatically comes
with subscription to Intellectual History Review, the successor to
Intellectual News. We are planning to launch Intellectual History Review
at the April conference.
The Partington Prize
The Partington Prize 2008
The Society for the History of Alchemy and Chemistry has established the
Partington Prize in memory of Professor James Riddick Partington, the
Society’s first Chairman. It is awarded every three years for an
original and unpublished essay on any aspect of the history of alchemy
or chemistry. The prize consists of three hundred and fifty pounds
(£350).
The competition is open to anyone with a scholarly interest in the
history of alchemy or chemistry who, by the closing date of 31 December
2007 has not reached 35 years of age, or if older has completed a
doctoral thesis in the history of science within the previous three
years, Scholars from any country may enter the competition, but entries
must be submitted in English and must not have been previously submitted
to another journal. The prize-winning essay will be published in the
Society’s journal, Ambix. One hard copy of the entry, word processed on
one side of the paper, should be submitted, along with a copy of the
entry on disc. We prefer files to be in Microsoft Word 2000, if
possible. Essay must be fully documented using the conventions used in
the current issue of Ambix. Essays must not exceed 10,000 words in
length, including references and footnotes. All entries must be
submitted with a word count.
All entries should be sent to Dr Gerrylynn K. Roberts, Department of the
History of Science, Technology and Medicine, The Open University, Walton
Hall, Milton Keynes, MK7 6AA, UK, with the words “Partington Prize”
written clearly on the envelope. Each entry should contain a separate
title page giving the author’s name, institution, postal address, email
address and date of birth (and if relevant the date of completion of
their thesis). The author’s name and contact details must not appear on
the pages of the essay as the identity of the author will not be made
available to the judges. Essays (no more than one from each competitor)
must be received no later than 31 December 2007.
The decision of the judges appointed by the Council will be final. The
Society reserves the right to divide the prize between two or more
entries of equal merit, or not to award a prize should no essay be
deemed of suitable standard.
The name of the winner will be announced by 30 April 2008, and all
essays will be returned to competitors soon after that date.
Previous Winners of the Partington Prize:
1975: P. C. BARRATT, "Speculative chemistry in the 1880s – Prout's
legacy for the chemical elements"
1978: REINHARD LÖW, "The progress of organic chemistry during the period
of German Romantic Naturphilosophie, 1795-1825"
Reinhard Löw, 'The Progress of Organic Chemistry during the Period of
German Romantic Naturphilosophie', Ambix, 27 (1980), 1 – 10.
1981: WILLIAM NEWMAN, "Thomas Vaughan as an interpreter of Agrippa van
Nettesheim"
William Newman, 'Thomas Vaughan as an Interpreter of Agrippa von
Nettesheim', Ambix, 29 (1982), 125 – 140.
1984: T. M. LUHRMAN, "An interpretation of the Fama Fraternitas with
respect to Dee's Monas Hieroglyphica"
T. M. Luhrman, 'An Interpretation of the Fama Fraternitas with Respect
to Dee's Monas Hieroglyphica', Ambix, 33 (1986), 1 – 10.
1987: T. D. MOY, "A chemical mediator. Emil Fischer's role as liaison
during the First World War"
Timothy D. Moy, 'Emil Fischer as "Chemical Mediator": Science, Industry,
and Government in World War One', Ambix, 36 (1989), 109 – 120.
1990: MARCO BERETTA, "The history of chemistry in the eighteenth
century"
Marco Beretta, 'The Historiography of Chemistry in the Eighteenth
Century: A Preliminary Survey and Bibliography', Ambix, 39 (1992), 1 –
10.
1993: KATHERINE D. WATSON, "The chemist as expert. The consulting career
of Sir William Ramsay"
Katherine D. Watson, 'The Chemist as Expert: The Consulting Career of
Sir William Ramsay', Ambix, 42 (1995), 143 – 159.
1996: No award
1999: TARA E. NUMMEDAL, "Alchemical reproduction and the strange career
of Maria Zieglerin".
Tara E. Nummedal, 'Alchemical Reproduction and the Career of Anna Maria
Zieglerin', Ambix, 48 (2001), 56 – 68.
2002: No award
2005: DANE T. DANIEL, "Invisible wombs: Rethinking Paracelsus's concept
of body and matter"
Dane T. Daniel, 'Invisible Wombs: Rethinking Paracelsus's Concept of
Body and Matter', Ambix, 53 (2006), 129 - 142.
A Major Release of Texts by the Newton
Project at Sussex University
The Newton Project has moved from Imperial College
London to the University of Sussex. We can now be found at
www.newtonproject.sussex.ac.uk. We would like to thank everyone at
Sussex University for giving us a new home and making us feel welcome.
We also would like to thank all those at Imperial who helped make this
project possible during its first formative years.
Much has been going on behind the scenes in the months
immediately preceding and following our move to Sussex in January of
this year. The move sees the release of a large swathe of new material
that amounts to almost 350,000 words or over 1,000 pages of printed
text. These materials include:
These materials have been coded according to our full
DTD. This means that they can take advantage of our new (and continually
improving) XSLT code. Our older materials are in the process of being
upgraded to our full DTD. The texts are being re-released as they are
updated. We expect to complete the revision of our existing transcripts
sometime in 2007. As part of this upgrade, we have now also included the
embedded images that are quite essential for understanding the meaning
of Newton's
'Of Colours' (Additional Ms. 3975, pp. 1-22, Cambridge University
Library, UK). We aim to have the images included and the coding upgraded
of his
'Certain Philosophical Questions' (Additional Ms. 3996, Cambridge
University Library, UK) by the end of March 2007.
This release has also seen the creation of two new
sections on our site. These pages display
natural philosophical texts by other early modern authors and
additional theological writings. The coming months will see further
improvements to the structure of the site as well as the incorporation
of a more advanced search facility for our texts.
Although we have thoroughly tested our new site before
making it publicly available, it is always possible that some niggling
little problems may yet arise. We would love
to hear from anyone
about any difficulties they have with our material.
Find out about
what's been recently posted.
Exposición
La Bibliotheca Mágica.
Exposición Celebrada del 15 de Enero al 28 de Febrero de 2007.
Horario: de Lunes a Viernes, de 9:00 a 20:30.
Comisaria:
Dr. Mar Rey Bueno.
Sede:
Biblioteca Histórica Marqués de Valdecilla (Universidad Complutense de
Madrid)
Dirección:
Calle del Noviciado, 3.
28015 - Madrid
Teléfono:
913946612
Fax:
913946599
Correo-electrónico:
buc_foa@buc.ucm.es
Metro:
Líneas 2 (Noviciado), 3 y 10 (Plaza España).
Localización:
Plano
de situación.
Paseo Virtual:
Pulsar aquí para Iniciar el paseo.
International Conference
Latanosa. Art and Science in the Baroque
Instituto de Estudios Altoaragoneses. Huesca. Spain.
Presentation:
The years of the seventeenth century has traditionally been regarded as
one of the most important landmarks of European history. The spanish
historiography tell us that these years were dominated by absence of
science and delayed in the running of the European Thought,
self-enclosed. For a variety of reasons, it history has been written,
for the most part, according to value that the historians have given to
it. Sometimes, they paid attention to the Art in order to look at the
Baroque. Others times, political reasons were a heavy element that they
got to explain the rest of these times. Nowadays, a variety of
positions, and a lot of changing perspectives are making that a new
narrative discourse bring to light, emerging strongly. May be that in
the future, historians of the History will say that today a continous
confluence of disciplines applied to the seventeenth century, with minds
working together, thinking like a team, produced a lot of ideas which
gave a definitive appearance to this century. In this International
Conference, recognized authorities of several areas of historical
knowledge will be together talking about some aspects of this period.
Making good use of this circumstance, and starting from Juan Vincencio
of Lastanosa, the Baroque will be analized again. This international
conference aims to move the historiography of the seventeenth century
and to encourage a more balanced assessment of Spain’s role in the
history of early modern Europe. More than that, the conference aims to
test and challenge current interpretations of the seventeenth century
Spain. Bearing in mind the topics of the Event and the high-qualified
speakers, we are sure that our objectives will become reality.
Provisional Programme:
MONDAY, MAY 28-2007
21.00
Baroque Music concert.
TUESDAY, MAY 29-2007
09.00
Pick-up documentation.
Excma. Diputación Provincial de Huesca.
9.30
Opening Conference
10.00
Inaugural Conference
AURORA EGIDO. Universidad de Zaragoza (Spain).
11.00
Coffee Break
11.30
Session: The collection
ALFREDO ARACIL. Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (Spain)
JAVIER MOSCOSO. Universidad de Murcia (Spain).
12.30
Break.
12.45
DANIELA BLEICHMAR. University of Southern California (USA).
MARÍA PORTUONDO. Department of History, University of Florida (USA).
17.30
Visit to Exhibitions:
Vincencio Juan de Lastanosa. The passion for the Knowledge. Excma.
Diputación Provincial de Huesca.
Lastanosa's Circle. Centro Cultural de Ibercaja (Palacio de los Duques
de Villahermosa).
WEDNESDAY, MAY- 30-2007
9.30
Session: The Garden
MARÍA CELIA FONTANA CALVO. Universidad de Zaragoza (Spain).
RAFAEL CHABRÁN. Whittier College, California (USA).
10.30
Coffee Break
11.00
ANNE GOLDGAR. King's College London (United Kingdom).
FRANCISCO PÁEZ DE LA CADENA. University of La Rioja (Spain).
16.30
Session: The Laboratory
MAR REY BUENO. Madrid (Spain).
WILLIAM C. EAMON. New Mexico State University (USA).
17.30
Coffee Break
18.00
BRUCE T. MORAN. University of Nevada at Reno (USA).
MANUEL CASTILLO MARTOS. University of Sevilla (USA).
THURSDAY, MAY 31-2007
09.30
Session: The Library
CARLOS GARCÉS MANAU. Instituto de Estudios Altoaragoneses (Huesca).
JOHN SLATER. University of Colorado (USA).
10.30
Coffee Break
11.00
ALISON SANDMAN. James Madison University Virginia
(USA).
JORGE CAÑIZARES ESGUERRA. University of Texas at
Austin (USA).
17.00
City Tour
20.00
City Council Welcome.
FRIDAY, JUNY 1-2007
9.30
Session: The Living Room
MIGUEL LÓPEZ PÉREZ. Madrid (Spain).
ANTONIO BARRERA. Colgate University (USA).
10.30
Coffee Break
11.00
PAULA E. FINDLEN. Stanford University (USA).
HAROLD J. COOK Wellcome Trust for the History of Medicine at UCL (UK).
12.00
General Conclusions
13.00
Closing Conference
17.00
Travel to Loarre and Bolea.
SATURDAY, JUNY 2-2007
Travel to Monzón, Alquézar and Enate Wineward.
For program information:
Mar Rey Bueno (Organizing Committee)
mar.reybueno@ya.com
Pilar Alcalde (Organizing Committee)
palcalde@iea.es
For logistical information:
Carlos Garces (Member of the Lastanosa's Project)
lastanosa@iea.es
Address:
Instituto de Estudios Altoaragoneses
C/Parque, 10
Huesca E-22002
Tel.: +34 974 294 120
Fax: +34 974 294 122
Web-site:
http://www.iea.es/congresolastanosa/
Early Modern Philosophy and the Scientific
Imagination Seminar
Convenors: Stephen Clucas and Peter J Forshaw
The group meets Saturdays, 2pm - 4pm, Institute of English Studies,
Senate House.
The purpose of EMPHASIS is to provide
a London forum for scholars working in the history of philosophy,
intellectual history and the history of science of Europe in the period
1400-1650. The term ‘philosophy’ will be interpreted in its fullest
Renaissance sense, and will include such themes as: Neoplatonism,
scholasticism and late Aristotelian philosophy, Epicureanism, stoicism,
scepticism, cosmological theories, the classification of the
disciplines, encyclopaedism, Lullism, the art of memory, the philosophy
of mathematics, theories of the soul, theories of language and signs
etc.
The seminar will also address
Renaissance or Early Modern ‘science’ (or natural philosophy), focussing
on questions relating to epistemology, conceptual innovation, social and
cultural contexts and the relations between ‘science’ (or natural
philosophy) and religion. The seminar will encompass all the
‘scientific’ disciplines of the period, including astronomy, medicine,
natural history, cosmography and applied mathematics (optics, mechanics,
nautical and military engineering etc). We will also include
intellectually and historically rigorous approaches to the ‘occult
sciences’ (or ‘occult philosophy’) – that is to say: alchemy,
iatrochemistry, astrology, divination, Christian cabala, numerology and
the magical arts. The seminar will particularly encourage work which
interrogates the continuities between mediaeval and Renaissance science
(or natural philosophy), the relationship between the ‘sciences’ and the
so-called ‘pseudo-sciences’, and problems relating to the historiography
of the Scientific Revolution.
EMPHASIS will meet monthly on
Saturdays in room 265 (unless otherwise stated) during the academic term
at the Institute for English Studies, Senate House.
Programme:
30 September 2006
(Saturday)
Venue: ST274 (Stewart House), Time: 14:00 - 16:00
Stephen Gaukroger (University of Sydney)
‘Spinoza on politico-theology and natural philosophy’
04 November 2006
(Saturday)
Venue: ST273 (Stewart House), Time: 14:00 - 16:00
Sarah Hutton (Middlesex University)
‘A new star: astronomy and Platonism in the poetry of Hester Pulter
(1596-1678)’
09 December 2006
(Saturday)
Venue: ST274 (Stewart House), Time: 14:00 - 16:00
John Henderson (Birkbeck College, University of London)
‘"Filth is the Mother of Corruption":Plagues, Putrefaction and the Body
of the Poor in Late Renaissance Italy.’
06 January 2007
(Saturday)
Venue: ST273 (Stewart House), Time: 14:00 - 16:00
Sachiko Kusukawa (Trinity College, Cambridge)
‘Picturing the book of nature: the case of Konrad Gessner’
03 February 2007
(Saturday)
Venue: ST274 (Stewart House), Time: 14:00 - 16:00
Charles Webster (All Souls College, Oxford)
‘The Radical Reformation of Paracelsus’
03 March 2007
(Saturday)
Venue: ST274 (Stewart House), Time: 14:00 - 16:00
Rob Iliffe (Imperial College, London)
‘New perspectives on Newton's Theology’
14 April 2007
(Saturday)
Venue: ST273 (Stewart House), Time: 14:00 - 16:00
Candice Delisle (Wellcome Trust Centre for the History of Medicine, UCL)
‘Between the particular and the general: Conrad Gessner's
correspondence’
05 May 2007
(Saturday)
Venue: ST273 (Stewart House), Time: 14:00 - 16:00
Simon Schaffer (HPS, University of Cambridge)
‘The information order of Newtonianism’
02 June 2007
(Saturday)
Venue: ST273 (Stewart House), Time: 14:00 - 16:00
Catherine Rider (Christ's College, Cambridge)
‘The Doctor and the Witches: Bartholomaeus Carrichter’s On the Healing
of Magical Illnesses (1551)’
Venue:
Institute of English Studies, School of Advanced Study, 3rd Floor,
Senate House, Malet Street, London
WC1E 7HU. Enquiries to the Institute of English Studies
Tel: +44 (0) 20 7862 8675
Fax: +44 (0) 20 7862 8720
Email: ies@sas.ac.uk
Beckman
Center Visiting Scholar Program Travel Grants (No Deadline)
(Chemical Heritage Foundation)
The CHF
Beckman Center Visiting Scholar Program offers grants to help defray the
direct costs of conducting research in the CHF’s Othmer Library and
archival, artifact, and art collections in Philadelphia. Travel Grants
of approximately $750 per week can be used to cover travel, lodging, and
other research expenses including photocopying. Applicants must
electronically submit a CV, a one-page statement outlining the research
project, the amount of time they will need, and materials to be used,
and one letter of reference sent directly from the source to CHF. There
is no deadline for applications; they will be accepted throughout the
year and reviewed as they arrive. See our website at the link below or
contact travelgrants@chemheritage.org for more information.
Closing Date:
01/01/2010
Further
Information:
http://www.chemheritage.org
Acquisitions Editor (Sciences) position available (University of
Chicago Press)
The
University of Chicago Press seeks an acquisitions editor to maintain and
develop the University of Chicago Press' prestigious list in the
history, philosophy, and social studies of science and technology.
Commission, select, and evaluate manuscripts to create a coherent
program of scholarly, trade, and course books. Approximately 20-25 books
are expected to be published annually and to contribute significantly to
the Press' income. Work closely with other Press departments to bring
projects to publication. Bachelor's degree required; advanced degree and
foreign language ability (French, German, and/or Italian) preferred; a
minimum of four years of work in book publishing including a minimum of
two years of full-time experience in acquiring scholarly or serious
trade books required (Ph.D. in a relevant field may substitute for some
publishing experience); familiarity with history, philosophy, and social
studies of science and technology, and with academic advisers in these
areas preferred; an understanding of publishing finances and the
changing nature of scholarly publishing strongly preferred; outstanding
verbal and written communication skills required; good judgment, tact,
collaborative spirit, and diplomatic skills required; ability to help
authors organize and develop manuscripts and prepare work to Press
specifications required; ability to set goals and prioritize
responsibilities required. A cover letter and resume are required to be
considered for this position. Interested applicants should apply online
at the link posted below. The University of Chicago is an Equal
Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer.
Further Information:
http://jobopportunities.uchicago.edu/applicants/Central?quickFind=073937
Welcome
Library *Extended* Hours
The Wellcome
Library will shortly be moving back to 183 Euston Road.
In order to facilitate the move, will be closing at 4pm on Saturday 24th
March, reopening at 10am on Monday 16 April. To reduce the inconvenience
to our users, our opening hours will be extended in the six weeks
running up to the closure:
Temporary opening hours, between Monday February 12th and Saturday March
24th will be as follows:
09.30 - 6.00pm Monday and Friday
10.00 - 6.00pm Wednesday
09.30 - 8.00pm Tuesday and Thursday
09.30 - 4.00pm Saturday
Further Information:
http://library.wellcome.ac.uk/node90.html
http://library.wellcome.ac.uk/node254.html
Recent
Dissertations in the History of Alchemy (or related fields)
Dissertations in the USA with a degree date of 2006 or 2007.
The theatre of the new religious movements of Europe
and America from the nineteenth century to the present
by Lingan, Edmund B., PhD
CITY UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK, 2006, 273 pages
Citation + Abstract
Natural or supernatural? Witchcraft, Inquisition and
views of nature at the dawn of the Scientific Revolution (Italy)
by Seitz, Jonathan, PhD
THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN - MADISON, 2006, 340 pages
Citation + Abstract
Video Digital
Lectura Pronunciada en la Real Academia Nacional de Farmacia (Madrid) el
día 16-6-2005.
Fidel Ortega Ortiz de Apodaca.
Matices de Inspiración Alquímica en el Texto del Quijote.
Tiempo de Duración: 12 minutos.
Tamaño del Archivo: 12 MB.
Descargar el Archivo
New transcription on-line.
The Chymistry of Isaac Newton
Indiana University Digital Library Program
The Chymistry of Isaac Newton is pleased to announce the
publication of a new transcription of the Smithsonian MS.Dibner 1031B,
usually called "Of Natures obvious laws & processes in vegetation". An
eleven-page tract, the manuscript represents Newton’s attempt to provide
a synopsis of a physical theory that unifies and accounts for many if
not most known natural phenomena. The Chymistry of Isaac Newton
transcription includes a short text in Latin that follows the English
section, a highly significant testament of Newton’s chymical philosophy
that has remained up to now unedited, un-translated, and virtually
unnoticed by Newton scholars.
This release also marks the launch of a full-text search engine built
using the California Digital Library program developed eXtensible Text
Framework (XTF) - a flexible indexing, querying and delivery tool that
supports XML data formats.
Isaac Newton wrote and transcribed about a million words on the subject
of alchemy. Newton's alchemical manuscripts include a rich and diverse
set of document types, including laboratory notebooks, indices of
alchemical substances, and Newton's transcriptions from other sources.
The Chymistry of Isaac Newton is producing a scholarly online edition as
one part of an integrated project that includes new research on Newton's
“chymistry”, a seventeenth-century term used to describe the sum of
alchemical pursuits as they existed in Newton's day.
With the support of the National Science Foundation, the current project
focus is to build a repository of searchable transcriptions with page
images. Our ultimate goal is to provide complete annotations for each
manuscript and comprehensive interactive tools for working with the
texts. To date, about seven hundred pages have been transcribed and
encoded in the TEI P4. The Chymistry of Isaac Newton is hosted by
Indiana University's Digital Library Program, and is affiliated with The
Newton Project originating at Imperial College London.
The Chymistry of Isaac Newton can be viewed at:
http://www.dlib.indiana.edu/collections/newton
For more information about the Chymistry of Isaac Newton please contact
Professor William R. Newman, Indiana University Dept. of the History and
Philosophy of Science: wnewman AT indiana DOT edu
Conference
6th International Conference on the History of Chemistry
Neighbours and territories The evolving identity of Chemistry
Leuven BELGIUM
28 August - 1 September 2007
Introduction
The Working Party (WP) on History of Chemistry of the European
Association for Chemical and Molecular Sciences (EuCheMS) will hold its
bi-annual History of Chemistry Conference in Leuven (Belgium) between 28
August and 1 September 2007. The conference will mainly focus on the
disciplinary identity of chemistry and the changing relationships with
other fields. A major aim of the conferences organised by the WP is to
facilitate communication between historically interested chemists and
historians of chemistry from all over Europe. Previous conferences
organised by the Working Party were held in Budapest in September 2003
(“Communication in chemistry in Europe”) and Lisbon in September 2005
(“Chemistry, Technology and Society”).
Main Topic: “Neighbours and territories The evolving identity of
Chemistry”.
Throughout its history, chemistry has been shifting ground between
different territories. From its roots in artisan technology,
pharmaceutical workshops and alchemical philosophy, it developed into
the archetypical laboratory science of the eighteenth and nineteenth
century, claiming full academic status. Chemists invaded many new
fields, from agriculture and industry, to medicine, public hygiene and
pharmacology. In the twentieth century, chemistry contributed to the
major developments in molecular biology, quantum mechanics,
environmental science and nanotechnology. But it also gained a key
position in the oil industry, the fabrication of plastics and
pharmaceutical research. This broad and continuous adaptation of the
discipline to various fields of expertise, has brought chemistry in
close contact with neighbouring disciplines and social pressures. Time
and again, chemists have needed to carve out their territory, to
negotiate with other specialists, and to claim particular expertise in
widely diverging fields. The conference aims at a better understanding
of the territories claimed by chemistry and its shifting boundaries with
other disciplines.
Plenary lectures on aspects of the conference theme will be given by
Bernadette Bensaude-Vincent (Université Paris IX - Nanterre), Ernst
Homburg (Universiteit Maastricht), Lawrence Principe (Johns Hopkins
University, Baltimore) and Ana Simões (Universidade de Lisboa).
Topics and Subtopics
Territories - Building a disciplinary identity-
Making a base for chemistry: making institutions
for chemistry: the emergence of teaching and research institutions,
societies, chemical journals, etc.
Making pedagogy: Teaching practices and
textbooks, laboratory teaching, seminars, moral economies of
chemistry, disciplining bodies and minds, pedagogical tools and
models (such as Lewis diagrams, 3-D models, etc.), making “standard
problems”, making a collective memory, commemorative practices,
history in chemistry classrooms.
Making connections: travels of learning,
correspondence, chemical literature, chemistry as a communicative
practice, circulating chemical knowledge.
Making standards: Creating standard paper tools
and laboratory practices, standardizing the language (terminological
reforms, chemical terminology and symbols) creating international
units, stabilizing instruments, $experts practices, etc.
Neighbours and borders Crossing, merging and negotiating disciplinary
borders.
Making the borders: chemistry and its changing
relationships with other disciplines (experimental physics,
medicine, pharmacy, technology, mineralogy, metallurgy, etc.),
boundary objects, landscapes and labscapes, trading zones, etc.
Crossing and negotiating new borders:
Early-modern chemistry and pharmacy, medicine, metallurgy,
mineralogy, experimental physics. Nineteenth and twentieth century
specialities and sub-disciplines: biochemistry, analytical
chemistry, organic chemistry, physical chemistry, etc.
Negotiating new identities: Past & Present: (I)
Past: “Alchemy, chymistry, chemistry and the artificial reproduction
of nature”
Negotiating new identities: Past & Present: (II)
Present: Twentieth century chemistry: "Redissolving back to the
origins" / “Chemistry: a temporary union”
The final shape of the sessions will largely depend on the submitted
papers. Specific sessions (chairman + 3 /4 papers) on topics related to
the meeting main theme can be suggested to the programme committee
(Jose.R.Bertomeu@uv.es). Both paper and poster sessions are planned.
Submitted abstracts will be evaluated simultaneously for both kinds of
sessions.
Scientific Committee
Marco BERETTA, Università di Bologna, Italy.
José Ramón BERTOMEU-SÁNCHEZ, Universitat de València, Spain (chair).
Ana CARNEIRO, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Portugal.
Ursula KLEIN, Max Planck Institut für Wissenschaftsgeschichte, Berlin,
Germany.
Laurence LESTEL, Conservatoire National des Arts et Métiers, Paris,
France.
Anders LUNDGREN, Uppsala Universitet, Sweden.
Peter MORRIS, Science Museum, London.
Carsten REINHARDT, Universität Regensburg, Germany.
Sona ŠTRBÁNOVÁ, Ústav pro soudobé dìjiny, Akademie vìd Èeské republiky,
Prague, Czech Republic.
Brigitte Van TIGGELEN, Université catholique de Louvain, Mémosciences
asbl.
Local Commitee
Kenneth BERTRAMS, Université Libre de Bruxelles, B.
Hendrik DEELSTRA, Universiteit Antwerpen, B (honorary chairman).
Ernst HOMBURG, Universiteit Maastricht, NL.
Adriaan MINDERHOUD, Chemiehistorische Groep KNCV, NL.
Geert VANPAEMEL, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, B.
Brigitte Van TIGGELEN, Université catholique de Louvain, Mémosciences
asbl,
B (chairwoman).
Location
The meeting will take place in the charming small town of Leuven
(population 80,000) which is an interesting historical site in Belgium.
As
the former medieval capital of the region and the location of the oldest
university of the Low Countries (founded in 1425), it has preserved many
monuments and buildings from the fifteenth century. Leuven is now a main
centre for high tech industrial research (e.g. IMEC for
micro-electronics)
and harbours one of the most important brewery industries of the world
Leuven is situated at about 30 km from Brussels and is easily accessible
by
train. Brussels airport is only 20 minutes away by car and even less by
train (15 minutes).
Further information can be found at
www.kuleuven.be or
www.leuven.be.
Website
http://www.6ICHC.be
Contact
(a) For questions concerning the Programme:
Dr. José Ramón Bertomeu-Sánchez, the Chairman of the International
Programme Committee, at
Jose.R.Bertomeu@uv.es
(b) For question concerning the Local arrangements:
Dr. Brigitte Van Tiggelen
vantiggelen@memosciences.be
Dr. Geert Vanpaemel:
geert.vanpaemel@arts.kuleuven.ac.be
Deadlines
Scholars who want to present a 20 minutes paper at the conference are
invited to submit a one-page abstract to the Programme Committee before
1
February 2007. The instructions to authors will be available at:
http://www.6ICHC.be
To submit your abstract, as well as for questions concerning the
scientific
programme, please contact José Ramón Bertomeu-Sánchez, the Chairman of
the
International Programme Committee, at
Jose.R.Bertomeu@uv.es
The members of the International Programme Committee will referee all
abstracts, and authors will be informed about acceptance or rejection
before 15 April 2007.
Séminaire
Chimie et mécanisme au tournant du XVIIe et du XVIIIe siècle
UMR Savoirs, Textes et Langages (CNRS, universités de Lille 3 et de
Lille 1)
Responsables : Bernard Joly et Rémi Franckowiak
Journée d’étude « Chimie et médecine »
26 mars 2007
Le travail engagé depuis trois ans dans le séminaire de recherche
consacré aux rapports entre la chimie et le mécanisme au tournant
XVIIe/XVIIIe siècle se poursuit cette année sous la forme de deux
journées d’étude « Chimie et médecine » (26/03/2007) et « Chimie et
philosophie » (11/06/2007).
La première de ces journées aura pour objectif d’analyser le rôle et les
interactions de la chimie et des approches corpusculaires et mécanistes
dans les innovations médicales à l’âge classique dans plusieurs pays
européens.
9 heures — Accueil et présentation par Bernard Joly et Rémi Franckowiak
9h15 — Hiro Hirai ( Research Fellow à l’université de Gand ) : «
Génération spontanée chez Sennert ».
10h15 — Rémi Franckowiak (Maître de conférences à l’université de Lille
1) : «Médecine vitriolique et sympathique, chimie spirituelle et
atomique expérimentées par Digby »
11h15 — 11h45 : pause
11h45 — Antonio Clericuzio (Professeur à l’université de Cassino) : «
Médecine et chimie en Italie au XVIIe siècle »
12h45 — 14h : repas
14h — Claire De Oliveira (Chargée de recherche ANR, université de Paris
8) : « Les explications médicales de la mélancolie entre humorisme,
chimie et mécanisme (Burton, Willis et Boerhaave) ».
15h — Miguel Lopez (Coordonnateur scientifique de l'Institut d'Études du
Haut-Aragon, Huesca, Espagne) : « Chimie et médecine dans l'Espagne de
la fin du XVIIe siècle »
16h —16h30 : pause
16h30 — Dominique Boury (Enseignant-chercheur au département d’éthique
de l’Institut catholique de Lille) : « Venel – Bordeu, dispute autour
des eaux minérales ».
17h30 — Fin des travaux
Journée d’étude « La chimie dans l’œuvre des philosophes
»
11 juin 2007
Le travail engagé depuis trois ans dans le séminaire de recherche
consacré aux rapports entre la chimie et le mécanisme au tournant
XVIIe/XVIIIe siècle se poursuit cette année sous la forme de deux
journées d’étude « Chimie et médecine » (26/03/2007) et « Chimie et
philosophie » (11/06/2007).
La seconde de ces journées portera sur la présence de la chimie dans
l’œuvre des philosophes à la fin du XVIIe et pendant le XVIIIe siècle.
Il s’agira de mesurer la nature et l’importance de l’intérêt porté par
de nombreux philosophes de cette époque à la chimie, d’examiner
l’importance de leur contribution et de leurs critiques, concernant une
science qui fait alors l’objet de nombreuses controverses, mais aussi de
repérer le rôle que la chimie a pu jouer dans la construction et le
développement de certains aspects de leur œuvre philosophique.
9 heures — Accueil et présentation par Bernard Joly et
Rémi Franckowiak
9h15 — Solange Gonzalez (ATER à l’université de Bordeaux 1 ) : «
Pierre-Sylvain Régis est-il cartésien quand il traite de la chimie ? »
10h15 — Anne-Lise Rey (maître de conférences à l’université de Lille 1)
: « Leibniz et la chimie »
11h15 — 11h45 : pause
11h45 — Bernard Joly (professeur à l’université de Lille 3) : « La
théorie tourbillonnaire du feu chez Malebranche : vers une chimie
cartésienne ? »
12h45 — 14h : repas
14h — Philippe Hamou (maître de conférences à l’université de
Paris-Nanterre) : « Locke et la chimie »
15h — Philippe Huneman [sous réserve] (chargé de recherche à l’IHPST,
CNRS/université de Paris 1) : « Matérialisme et naturalisme au XVIIIe
siècle ; perspectives kantiennes »
16h — 16h30 : pause
16h30 — Mai Lequan (maître de conférences à l’université de Lyon 3) : «
Quelques aspects de la chimie et du chimisme dans la Naturphilosophie de
Schelling »
17h30 — Fin des travaux
European Society for the Study of Western Esotericism
Inaugural Conference of the ESSWE on "Constructing Tradition:
Means and Myths of Transmission in Western Esotericism".
University of Tübingen, Germany.
20-22 July 2007
Many forms of early modern and modern esoteric knowledge claim to
represent or restore an ancient, primordial or lost wisdom tradition as
a "secret doctrine". The conceptualisation and realisation of such
claims places a major emphasis on ideas of tradition and its
transmission, either through oral traditions or the discovery and
dissemination of sacred and mythic books. The questions of heritage and
tradition, of origin and genealogy, are crucial to the foundation of any
esoteric knowledge, whether in alchemy, astrology, magic, Kabbalah or
Theosophy. Such knowledge legitimates itself through its origins, its
ancestry and its transmission and may even seek to invent and construct
its own tradition. It is this aspect of esoteric discourse that the
inaugural conference of the European Society for the Study of Western
Eso-tericism (ESSWE) intends to engage.
The title, “Means and Myths of Transmission”, refers to the more
technical, material aspect of tradition, on the one hand, and to its
mythical or philosophical aspects, on the other. Against this
background, the conference will bring together various methodological
approaches and perspectives that compare the traditions of esoteric
knowledge with corresponding concepts and practices in religion,
literature or science. This will offer fruitful perspectives in the
analysis of Western esotericism and its complex role between various
cultures of knowledge.
Theory, myth and history may serve to illustrate the different accesses
to this topic. The constitution and construction of esoteric knowledge
and its transmission may be examined as theoretical concepts or as myths
within the literature of the tradition itself, or in the actual
historical practice of how esoteric groups bequeath their knowledge to
posterity. Accordingly, one can distinguish a) theoretical concepts, b)
myths, and c) the historical practices, strategies and procedures of
transmission.
1. Theoretical and interpretational frameworks (concepts and ideas of
tradition)
The many varied concepts of tradition in modern esotericism imply a
theory of esoteric communication and information, involving the
construction and conception of genealogies and the transmission of such
primordial and secret knowledge. These theories may be investigated from
various points of view (which may find their place also within
non-esoteric concepts of knowledge), through the philosophy and/or
theology of history, but also through media theory and information
theory. Consequently, the following aspects may be taken into
consideration:
- Philosophy of History
- Concepts of tradition and transmission
- Theology of History
- Soteriological and messianic expectations of restoration (hidden or
lost traditions)
- Media-concepts
- Oral transmission and communication
- Literary transmission and communication
- Imagery and symbolism
- Visual communication and "iconic action"
2. Mythical and literary approaches (myths and imagined tradition)
A second field may be distinguished by mythical and literary, i.e. less
conceptual, much more imaginative framings of tradition and transmission
in Western esoteri-cism. Eventually quite distinct from actual
historical reality, transmission can be the object of mythical
construction as well as literary narration. Moreover: sometimes esoteric
models of transmission might be viewed as generators of literary and
mythical narration. The following aspects may be considered:
- Mythical agents and bearers of esoteric tradition (Abraham, Adam,
Moses, Zoroaster, Hermes Trismegistus)
- Literary narratives of esoteric tradition and transmission
- The rhetorical and poetical functionality of esoteric tradition and
transmission
- Myths of Origin, Genealogy or Transmission (written or oral)
3. Historical approaches (actual practices and procedures of
transmission)
The actual historical practice of transmission can widely differ from
the theoretical construction and the imaginative plane of mythical
invention. Sociology, communication and media studies, history, and
related disciplines have developed instruments of analysis that are
fruitful in exploring practices of transmission. For understanding
processes of group formation, projects in translation and criticism or
the function of oral, literary and visual traditions, the following
aspects seem worth considering:
- Sociology: groups, circles, (secret) societies
- Politics: religious and confessional strategies
- Doctrine: master-disciple relationships vs. direct inspiration
- Media: oral, literary, image, symbolism
- Philology: projects in translation, criticism, editions
- Library and museum: books, collections
Participants may choose to present a paper within one or other of these
three fields of research, but a combined approach is perfectly welcome.
In addition to the thematic focus outlined in this Call for Papers,
proposals that address other relevant issues of Western Esotericism are
also welcome and will be considered seriously. Furthermore, graduate
students are strongly encouraged to submit proposals in which they
introduce their research projects. A forum for discussing dissertation
projects will be part of the conference.
Organisational Matters
- Conference Languages: English and German
- Deadline for abstracts: 31st of December 2006
- Length of abstracts: approximately 300 words
Prof. Dr. Andreas Kilcher
Deutsches Seminar
Wilhelmstr. 50
72074 Tübingen
Germany
e-mail:
andreas.kilcher@uni-tuebingen.de
Conference in Åbo, Finland.
Western Esotericism
Donnerska institutet
15-17 August 2007
Beskrivning av temat:
Västerländsk esoterism
Introduktion
I religionsvetenskapligt sammanhang förbinds begreppet esoterism i regel
med den specifikt västerländska traditionen (Western Esotericism) och är
då nära förknippat med hermetism (eng. Hermeticism) i ordets vida
bemärkelse. Som sådan innesluter termen en mångfald traditioner och
strömningar inom den västerländska kulturen från antiken genom
renässansen fram till modern tid.
Begreppets etymologiska ursprung ligger i den antika uppdelningen
i ”inre”(ésō,
esōtérō,
esōterikós)
och ”yttre” (éxō,
exōtérō,
exōterikós).
Denna uppdelning står sig fortfarande och går att associera med
besläktade eller angränsande dialektiska uttryckspar såsom occultus –
manifestus, subjekt – objekt, mikrokosmos – makrokosmos, den inre boken
– naturens bok osv.
Ett problem i bruket av begreppet esoterism är dess svårdefinierbarhet.
Begreppet ger mer uttryck för ett förhållande (en doldhet) än ett
faktiskt innehåll. Under t.ex. Paracelsus och Jakob Böhmes tid
uppfattades deras läror inte som esoteriska, utan var i många avseenden
representativa för respektive tidevarvs religiositet, natursyn och
kunskapsteoretiska strävanden.
Definition
Begreppet esoterism används här som beteckning på en fördold kunskap om
världs- och livsåskådning tillgänglig för invigda, s.k. priviligierad
information till åtskillnad från ockultism som i detta sammanhang
används som beteckning för bestämda rituella tekniker som exempelvis
pendling, spådomskonst, bordsdans, kontakt med andar och avlidna
människor osv. Utom anskaffande av kunskap om framtiden kontaktar
ockultisten även ”jordnära” makter och krafter för att uppnå sina
syften. Inom ockultismen fokuserar man mera på ockulta tekniker och på
resultatet av användandet av dessa snarare än på livsåskådnings- och
världsåskådningsfrågor, så som inom esoterismen. Skillnaden mellan
esoterism och ockultism är dock inte knivskarp och det finns också
blandformer mellan dem båda.
Några exempel på esoterism från slutet av 1800-talet och början av
1900-talet är följande. Teosofiska Samfundet (1875), Hermetic Order of
the Golden Dawn (1888), Ordo Templi Orientis (1900),
Rosenkreuzergemeinschaft (1909), Antroposofiska Sällskapet (1913),
Antiquus Mysticus Ordo Rosae Crucis (AMORC) (1916), samt Internationale
Schule des Rosenkreuzes e. V/Lectorium Rosicrucianum (1923). Det handlar
i dessa fall om världs- och livsåskådningssystem där innehållet i läran
erhållits genom en unik kunskapsväg. De har bl.a. en gemensam
bakgrundsfaktor: de kan ses som reaktioner på en tilltagande materialism
och vetenskapstro.
Nedan finns ett antal exempel på västerländsk esoterism. Listan är lång
men naturligtvis inte fullständig. Det står var och fritt att anmäla ett
föredrag som inte finns på denna lista.
Exempel
Alkemi
Antroposofi
Astrologi (äldre)
Astrologi (modern)
Esoterismens språk
Frimureri
Gurdjieff-inspirerade grupper
Hermetism
Kabbalism (icke-judisk)
Kristen teosofi (Böhme-inspirerad esoterism)
Martinus och Martinus-grupper
Neopaganism
Paracelsism
Romantisk esoterism
Rosenkorsare (förmodern tid)
Rosenkorsordnar (nutida)
Satanism
Spiritism
Swedenborgska rörelser
Teosofi
Teosofiskt inspirerade grupper
UFO-grupper
Specialsektion
Det ordnas därtill att finnas en specialsektion vid kongressen som
behandlar följande tema:
Nordisk esoterism och den europeiska religionshistorien
Den europeiska religionshistorien kännetecknas av en religiös pluralism,
som genereras av att
- olika traditioner lånar diskurser och handlingsmönster av varandra
- olika traditioner definierar sig som annorlunda och överlägsna genom
att konstruera gränser mot andra
- dessa gränser handlar om att presentera sin egen tradition som bärare
av en väg till kunskap som andra saknar
I synnerhet esoterismen (i Norden och annorstädes) definierar sig själv
och definieras av andra inte minst genom sin syn på vad kunskap är, och
hur kunskap uppnås. Symposiet syftar till att utifrån denna teoretiska
kontext belysa den nordiska esoterismen i historia och nutid, dvs. genom
att undersöka dess bruk av olika kunskapsbegrepp som identitetspolitiska
markörer.
Anmälan:
Vänligen sänd anmälan om föredrag samt ett kort abstract till Donnerska
institutet före den 28 februari 2007.
Adress:
Donnerska institutet
PB 70
FIN-20501 Åbo
Finland
E-mail: donner-symposium@abo.fi
Tel.: +358 2 2154315
Fax: +358 2 2311290
Tiden för föredraget är 30 minuter och därtill kommer 15 minuter för
diskussion.
Ett urval av föredragen kommer att publiceras i Donnerska institutets
serie Scripta Instituti Donneriani Aboensis, vol 20. Språket i
skriftserien är engelska, franska och tyska. Det publicerade föredraget
får vara längre än den version som framförs vid symposiet.
Kongresspråket är engelska.
Registrering:
Kongressavgiften är 100 EUR, doktorander 50 EUR och avec 75 EUR.
Vänligen betala kongressavgiften till Nordea bank senast den 30 april
2007 Konto nr: Nordea FI 12 20571800020055 NDEAFIHH
Ett Get together party, en exkursion och en bankett ordnas i anslutning
till symposiet. Deltagandet i dessa ingår i kongressavgiften.
Logi:
Logi och uppehälle betalar var och en själv.
Deltagarna i symposiet har möjlighet att bo på kongresscentret.
Reservering av rum görs direkt till Linnasmäki Congress Centre av
deltagarna själva.
Linnasmäki Congress Centre Hotell
http://www.linnasmaki.fi/se/index.html
Ringbrynjegatan 7 (Lustokatu 7)
Tel.: +358 407 323 191
FIN-20380 Åbo
Finland
Adress:
Donnerska institutet
PB 70
FIN-20501 Åbo
Finland
E-mail: donner-symposium@abo.fi
Tel.: +358 2 2154315
Fax: +358 2 2311290
Note:
Although the Call for Papers is in Swedish, the conference language will
be English.
For more information, see "Agenda" or the conference website.
http://www.abo.fi/instut/di/Congress2007/Kongress.htm
Seminar On Giordano Bruno
13 – 16 June 2007
Organised by the Centro Internazionale di Studi Bruniani “Giovanni
Aquilecchia”, Naples and the Istituto Italiano per gli Studi Filosofici.
The seminars will be led by Carlo Ginzburg (Scuola Normale Superiore,
Pisa) on L’arte imita la natura. Un tema tradizionale in una prospettiva
insolita and Miguel Angel Granada (University of Barcelona) on Filosofia
e religione in Giordano Bruno. Details of scholarships to enable
students to come to London for the duration of the course will be
published in April/May
2007. Enquiries to Centro Internazionale di Studi Bruniani, tel. 00 39
081 2452150, fax. 00 39 081 7642654 or see
www.giordanobruno.it
International Conference.
CHYMIA. Science and Nature in Early Europe (1450-1750)
El Escorial (Madrid), September 2008
Presentation:
A church for God. A monastery
for the order Jeronymite. A palace for the king. A tomb for the Royal
Spanish dynasty, and a temple for science. Everything that, and much
more, Philip II planned for the monument that should have perpetuated
his glory for centuries, San Lorenzo de El Escorial. The last one is
precisely the one that less recognition has received for part of
scholars and historians of all times. Specially highlighted the chemical
practice, developed at the drugstore and the laboratory of distillation
founded by the King in the seventies of the 16th Century.
The monastery/palace of El Escorial will serve as a backdrop and co-host
of this international conference on science and nature in Early Modern
Europe. The conference seeks to bring together Spanish and international
scholars of science to discuss several topics concerning the role of
Alchemy from some recent points of view.
Confirmed Presenters:
- Dr. Lawrence M. Principe (Johns Hopkins University).
- Dr. Bruce Moran (University of Nevada, Reno).
- Dr. Harold J. Cook (Wellcome Trust for the History of Medicine at
UCL).
- Dr. William Eamon (University of New Mexico).
- Dr. Didier Kahn (Université Paris IV Sorbonne).
- Dr. Manuel Castillo Martos (Universidad de Sevilla).
- Dr. José Luis del Valle (Real Monasterio de San Lorenzo de El
Escorial, Library).
- MSc. José Rodríguez Guerrero (Azogue Journal).
- Dr. Agustín Fernández (Madrid).
- Dr. William Royall Newman (Indiana University).
- Dr. Michela Pereira (Università di Siena).
- Dr. Chiara Crisciani (Università degli Studi de Milano).
- Dr. Anke Timmermann (University of Cambridge).
- Dr. Lauren Kassell (University of Cambridge).
- Dr. Kevin Chang (Academia Sinica).
- Dr. Antonio Clericuzio (Università di Cassino).
- Dr. Miguel López Pérez (Madrid).
- Dr. Rémi Franckowiak (Université Charles-de-Gaulle, Lille 3).
- Dr. Stephen Clucas (Birkbeck, University of London).
- Dr. Tara Nummedal (Brown University).
- Dr. Hiro Hirai (University of Ghent).
- Dr. Rafal T. Prinke (Uniwersytet im. Adama Mickiewicza).
- Dr. Mar Rey Bueno (Madrid).
- Dr. Peter J. Forshaw (Birkbeck, University of London).
- Dr. Deborah E. Harkness (University of Southern California).
- Dr. Pamela H. Smith (Columbia University).
- Dr. Raimon Arola (Universitat de Barcelona).
- MA. Jennifer Rampling (PhD student at Cambridge University).
- Dr. M.E. Warlick, (University of Denver).
- Dr. Luc Peterschmitt (Université Charles-de-Gaulle, Lille 3).
- Dr.
Hanns-Peter Neumann
(Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg).
- Dr.
Bernard Joly (Université
Charles-de-Gaulle, Lille 3).
- Dr.
Antonio Barreda
(Colgate University, Hamilton).
- Dr.
Marcy Norton (George
Washington University).
- Dr.
Mari Luz López
Terrada (CSIC-Valencia).
- Dr. Paula DeVos
(San Diego State University).
- Dr. Maria M. Portuondo
(University of Florida).
- Dr. Marcos Martinón-Torres (University College London).
- Sébastien Moureau (PhD student at the Institut Orientaliste,
Université catholique de Louvain).
- Dr. Benjamin Fauré (Toulouse).
- Dr. Brigitte Van Tiggelen (Katholieke Universiteit Leuven).
- Gabriele Ferrario (PhD candidate at Università “Ca’ Foscari”,
Venezia).
- Dr. Jean-Marc Mandosio (EPHE, París).
- Dr. Antoine Calvet (París).
For program information, contact:
Miguel López Pérez
Organizing Committee
Email:
baeyens@revistaazogue.com
More information:
http://www.revistaazogue.com/conference/presentation.htm