The annual meeting of the History of Science Society (HSS) will take place November 9-12 at the Sheraton Centre in downtown Toronto, ON. Here is a list of sessions and events relevant to the history of anthropology:

 

Thursday 9 November 2017

 In Captivity: Animal Models and Metaphors in the Modern Era
3:30-5:30pm, Room: Kenora
Chair: Stephan Risi, Stanford University

  • “Cochineal Growing In 18th Century Mexico” (Deirdre Moore, Harvard University)

Science on the North American Frontier: Research and Colonial Interaction in the Arctic
3:30 – 5:30pm, Room: Kent
Chair: Matthew Farish, University of Toronto

  • “The ‘Forgotten’ Expedition: Chronicity, Sovereignty and the Search for Inuit Cancer, 1903-1960 (Jennifer Fraser, University of Toronto)

Friday, 10 November 2017 

‘Improvisation is the rule, and flexibility an absolute necessity’: the history of science and technology, and technical assistance
9:00-11:45am, Room: City Hall
Chair: Edna Suárez-Díaz, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México

  • “technical Assistance Cannot Be Exported, It Can Only Be Imported’: Creating Nuclear Consumers For A Developing World” (Gisela Mateos, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México; Edna Suárez-Díaz, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México)

The Edge of Human
9:00-11:45am, Room: Wentworth
Chair: Surekha Davies, Western Connecticut State University

  • “Headhunting, Bestiality And Extinction: German Anthropology And The Fight For Philippine Independence (1870-1904)” (Marissa Petrou, New York University)

Roundtable: Diversifying the Profession: Perspectives on Diversity, Inclusivity, and Equity in the History of Science
12:00-1:15pm, Room: Kenora
Chair: Myrna Perez Sheldon, Ohio University

  • “Statement Vs. Practice: Antiracism Discourse In The History Of Science” (Sebastián Gil-Riaño, University of Pennsylvania)

Science and the State I: Anthropology During the Cold War
1:30-3:30pm, Room: Civic Ballroom North
Chair: Joy Rohde, University of Michigan

  • “Cybernetics “At A Distance”: Cold War Anthropology, the RCC Project, and the Interpretation of Culture” (Ian Hartman, Northwestern University)
  • “The Insurgent Generation: Critical Anthropologists in the US and Mexico, 1969-1976” (John Gee, Harvard University)
  • “Human Ecology as Cultural Diplomacy: Navigating International Politics in the Smithsonian Quadrangle, 1983-1987” (Adrianna Link, American Philosophical Society)
  • “Commentary” (Joy Rohde, University of Michigan)

History of Anthropology Happy Hour
5:30-7:30pm
Cameron House

Saturday, 11 November 2017


9:00-11:45am, Room: Civic Ballroom South
Chair: Warwick Anderson, University of Sydney

  • “Crossroads Of American Sovereignty: Suffering And Spectacle In The Nuclear Pacific” (Mary Mitchell, Purdue University)

Hospitable Subjects: Indigenous hospitalities in the history of science
9:00-11:45am, Room: Kenora
Chair: Laura Stark, Vanderbilt University

  • “In Polite Company: Pueblo Management Of Ethnographic Data Collection” (Adam Johnson, University of Michigan)
  • “The Invention Of Participant Observation: A Host–guest History Of Science” (Isaiah Wilner, Harvard University)
  • “Strangers On An Island With No Beach: Pitcairn Islanders, Physical Anthropology, And The Places Of Captivation” (Adrian Young, Denison University)
  • “Hosting Indigenous Subjects: Scientific Hospitality In The City And The Lab” (Rosanna Dent, McGill University)
  • “Commentary” (Joanna Radin, Yale University)

Natural Things Beyond Their Environments: Modernity and Alienation
9:00-11:45am, Room: Civic Ballroom North
Chair: Jessica Riskin, Stanford University

  • “Living Fossils’: Pelvic Bones And Fertile Wombs As Objects Of Natural History In Semi-colonial Egypt” (Taylor Moore, Rutgers University)

Towards a Media History of Science, Technology, and Medicine: Precedents and Prospects
9:00-11:45am, Room: Dominion South
Chair: Jimena Canales, University of Illinois-Urbana Champaign

  • “Mirroring Anthropology: Media Theory In Papua New Guinea” (Katja Guenther, Princeton University)

Sex and Medico-Legal Expertise
2:45-4:45pm, Room: Kenora
Chair: Angus McLaren, University of Victoria

  • Criminal Responsibility And Sexual Psychopathy In Late-victorian Britain(Catherine Evans, University of Toronto)

 Specimens and Artifacts: Objects of Evidence in the Life Sciences
3:45-5:45pm, Room: Maple
Chair: Carin Berkowitz, Chemical Heritage Foundation

  • “Evidence of Creation, Creation of Evidence: The Ambiguities of the Chambered Nautilus” (Laurel Waycott, Yale University)
  • “Proving Prehistoric Man: Interpreting Geological and Archaeological Evidence in Interwar East Africa” (Emily Kern, Princeton University)

The Roles of Assumptions in Shaping the History of Science
3:45-5:45pm, Room: Churchill
Chair: Michael Ruse, Florida State University

  • “Where Is The Cradle Of Humankind? Geographical Assumptions In Fossil Debates” (Paige Madison, Arizona State University)

Transforming the Species: Evolutionary Ideas in the Enlightenment and Modern Age
5:00-6:00pm, Room: Chestnut
Chair: David Robinson, Truman State University

  • Human Ecology And The Development Of New Theories Of Cultural And Biological Evolution” (Emilie Raymer, Johns Hopkins University)

Sunday, 12 November 2017

Structure Across the Disciplines
10:00am-12:00pm, Room: Kent
Chair: John Tresch, University of Pennsylvania

  • “Between The Natural And Human Sciences: What Was Structuralism?” (Isabel Gabel, University of Chicago)

 

The full conference program can be found here