Sunday 27 October 2024

Leszek Zasztowt: Under a Double Headed Eagle: J贸zef Mianowski. Biography of a Conservative.

Leszek Zasztowt: Under a Double Headed Eagle: J贸zef Mianowski. Biography of a Conservative. Amsterdam: Brill 2024. ISBN: 978-3-506-79472-7


What was life like in the territories annexed by Russia in the 19th century? What were the views and attitudes of the Poles living in lands belonging to the Russian Empire? How did people arrange their lives when they did not take up revolutionary action and foreswore an open struggle with the Tsarist regime? Could one be a Polish patriot without fighting gun in hand for independence? The Russians believed that Poles were genetically preordained to be anti-Russian. Even in the west of Europe this charge of morbid Russophobia was taken to be the rule. It seems that this was one of the greatest falsehoods that Russian imperial propaganda managed to implement in the West. Leszek Zasztowt unfolds in this fascinating biography a much more complex reality through the life story of the medical scientist, academic and political activist J贸zef Mianowski (1804–1879), a man who served Russia and loved Poland.

cfa: (Re)Gendering Science: Policies, Practices and Discourses in Socialist Context and Beyond

 ❗️❗️❗️Open call for papers: 

馃搶History of Communism in Europe no. 16/2025

(Re)Gendering Science: Policies, Practices and Discourses in Socialist Context and Beyond

✒️Coordinators: dr. Irina Nastasa-Matei & dr. Luciana Jinga 

This call for papers invites contributors for a special issue of the scientific journal History of Communism in Europe, focusing on the relationship between women and science in socialist contexts. We aim to explore how women engaged with science both within national contexts (in Eastern Europe, Central Asia, or the Global South), and in transnational contexts (whether within the framework of socialist movements and organizations or through academic networks and scientific collaborations that included women from socialist countries and/or took place in these regions).

Image: Raluca Ripan and her students

Photo credits: Dolgoz贸 n艖 [The Working Woman], 1960

URL: https://www.iiccmer.ro/publicatii/2024/open-call-for-papers-history-of-communism-in-europe-no-16-2025/

hybrid lecture: Anna Sokolova: Wild Crop Socialism: Consumer Cooperation, Food Security, and Transnational Networks in Cold War Soviet Union

Wild Crop Socialism: Consumer Cooperation, Food Security, and Transnational Networks in Cold War Soviet Union

Anna Sokolova,

University of Ostrava


November 6th, 2024. Wednesday, 15.00-16.30

Room XH114 (Refresh Social Lab), Building XH - Havl铆膷kovo n谩b艡e啪铆 3120, FA UO. for online access contact https://ff.osu.cz/chsd/viktor-pal/93696/.


The Soviet Union was known for its large-scale resource extraction, particularly timber and hydrocarbons. These industries supported new technologies, infrastructures, and workforce flows. However, small-scale resource extraction, initiated by the Soviet state through the Consumer Cooperation Union (Tsentrosoyz), impacted natural environments and society differently. This system involved numerous pickers gathering and trading wild crops for cash and imported industrial goods. This system created a network of individual economic agents operating within each region and established links with trading counterparts worldwide. This talk, I will explore how this wild crop economy captured the complex social and economic processes of the late Soviet Union and how this knowledge can help us understand the different paths taken by the former Soviet republics as independent states in the post-Soviet transition.


Anna Sokolova a social and environmental historian of Soviet and post-Soviet Russia. She received her PhD from the University of Z眉rich. Anna is currently a senior researcher at the University of Ostrava.



Organized by the Department of History, Centre for Economic and Social History. Hosted by the Centre for the Philosophy of Historiography.

Wednesday 23 October 2024

CFP: Large Language Models for the History, Philosophy, and Sociology of Science - Berlin 04/2025

 CFP: Large Language Models for the History, Philosophy, and Sociology of Science - Berlin 04/2025


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We invite contributions to our workshop on using large language models (LLMs) in the history, philosophy, and sociology of science (HPSS). The workshop will focus on exploring use cases and proposals for how, and to what extent, LLMs might help overcome long-standing challenges in studies of how science works. The event will take place from April 2–4, 2025, at Technische Universit盲t Berlin, Germany. Attendance (online and on site) will be free and open to the public but registration will be required. To contribute a talk, please submit abstracts of 300–600 words by December 31, 2024, to arno.simons@tu-berlin.de.


Large Language Models for the History, Philosophy, and Sociology of Science

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Gerd Gra脽hoff (HU Berlin), Arno Simons (TU Berlin), Adrian W眉thrich (TU Berlin), and Michael Zichert (TU Berlin), 10629 Berlin (Deutschland)

02.04.2025 - 04.04.2025

Bewerbungsschluss: 31.12.2024


Workshop topics


Computational approaches to the history of science are in the process of establishing themselves among the standard repertoire of tools in the field and we have seen remarkable successes in their application already. Subfields of sociology of science have focused, since long, on quantitative methods such as bibliometrics and scientometrics. More recently, philosophy of science has experienced a shift towards allowing more empirical approaches including large-scale algorithmic analyses of scientific or methodological concepts. Computational tools can not only help reduce the workload in traditional research in these fields but, more importantly, also open up new avenues which to explore would otherwise be hopeless.


Analyses of co-occurrences and word frequencies as well as more advanced techniques such as topic modeling have helped go beyond identifying only structural features of scientific activities and began scratching the surface of semantics. However, a deeper understanding of scientific concepts, the structure of scientific arguments, and the process of knowledge transformation and spread have remained formidable challenges for computational approaches in the mentioned fields.


With the advent of LLMs this might change now. Natural language processing and machine learning have made a spectacular leap forward in their attempt to capture and analyze meaning and grammatical structures of texts. This promises that LLMs can help HPSS researchers meet the aforementioned challenges. However—besides general issues such as opacity, bias and interpretability—the use of LLMs for HPSS is likely to face unique obstacles arising from the specialized nature of scientific language as well as the specific perspectives and objectives of HPSS. It will be the main goal of this workshop to see how, given these obstacles, the most recent advances in LLM development can help overcome long-standing challenges in HPSS.


Accordingly, the workshop will address two key themes, with the goal of synthesizing them over the course of the event. On one hand, contributions should articulate the specific needs and desiderata of HPSS researchers—what they hope LLMs can achieve for their work. On the other hand, the current state of LLM development should be critically examined to determine to what extent these research goals are becoming attainable. Ideally, contributions will address both these objectives, though submissions focused on only one of them are also welcome.


We particularly encourage contributions that focus on:


- Use cases that demonstrate how LLMs can help resolve current issues in HPSS

- Examples of how LLMs allow researchers to ask and answer new types of questions in HPSS

- How new types of sources and data, made analyzable through LLMs, contribute to novel insights in HPSS research


We look for contributions that help resolve questions like these:


- How can LLMs help gain new perspectives on long-standing problems in HPSS such as determining the relevant contexts of knowledge claims, the dynamics of scientific controversies, problems of incommensurability, and generalizability of case studies?

- How can LLMs handle the specialized language of scientific texts, including technical jargon, citations, and mathematical formulas?

- How can LLMs bridge the gap between qualitative and computational methods and help overcome their limitations?

- How can LLMs be integrated into existing theoretical and methodological frameworks in HPSS, or how should these frameworks evolve to accommodate LLM-based analysis?

- How can we evaluate the validity of results generated by LLMs, given their opacity?

- How can LLMs account for the temporal development of scientific language and knowledge over time?


Format and practical information


The workshop will take place from April 2-4, 2025 at Technische Universit盲t Berlin. The program will consist of an invited keynote and contributed short talks (15+10 min) as well as additional sessions for discussions. Attendance (online and on site) will be free and open to the public but registration will be required. Information on this will follow closer to the date.


To contribute a talk, please send an abstract of your planned contribution of 300-600 words by e-mail to arno.simons@tu-berlin.de by December 31, 2024. We encourage every contributor to present on site and to participate in the whole workshop program. In exceptional cases, we will offer the possibility to present remotely.


Participation of underrepresented groups is particularly welcome, and we may be able to offer financial support to cover travel costs for contributing authors in exceptional cases. Please indicate in your submission if you would like to apply for financial support.


We plan to publish the slides, videos, and abstracts on a suitable platform. We also plan to write a report on the workshop and on the perspectives resulting from it.



https://www.tu.berlin/hps-mod-sci/workshop-llms-for-hpss

Marek Kunicki-Goldfinger: Towarzystwo Kurs贸w Naukowych 1978-1980 [Society for Academic Courses 1978-1980]. Krak贸w : Ksi臋garnia Akademicka, 2024

 Marek Kunicki-Goldfinger: Towarzystwo Kurs贸w Naukowych 1978-1980 [Society for Academic Courses 1978-1980]. Krak贸w : Ksi臋garnia Akademicka, 2024. ISBN: 9788383680330

Electronic version: https://books.akademicka.pl/publishing/catalog/book/682


[Polski poni偶ej]


Keywords: 

Society for Academic Courses 1978-1980, university, freedom of science, freedom of education, social resistance, intellectuals in the People’s Republic of Poland, communist repression in the People’s Republic of Poland 


Synopsis

SOCIETY FOR ACADEMIC COURSES 1978-1980


This book is divided into two main parts: the first, presented by the publisher as an original monograph, and the second, a collection of documents. The book explores the foundation, operation, and history of a state-independent institution established in communist Poland in January 1978 to defend fundamental human rights, including freedom of conscience, thought, expression, science, and education. This institution was named the Towarzystwo Kurs贸w Naukowych [Society for Academic Courses], referencing the tradition of a similar organisation that existed in partitioned Poland when, during a brief period of liberalisation following the 1905 Revolution, the Russian authorities allowed such an institution to operate legally in the so-called Kingdom of Poland.


------


Ksi膮偶ka Marka Kunickiego-Goldfingera dotyczy dzia艂ania niezale偶nego od w艂adzy komunistycznej

stowarzyszenia, Towarzystwa Kurs贸w Naukowych (TKN), w okresie od stycznia 1978 roku. Jego powstanie poprzedzone by艂o inicjatyw膮 m艂odzie偶y akademickiej i przede wszystkim grupy naukowc贸w, kt贸rzy zorganizowali od jesieni 1977 r. regularne, niezale偶ne od w艂adzy wyk艂ady (tzw. Uniwersytet Lataj膮cy) przede wszystkim z najnowszej historii i literatury. Do podj臋cia takich dzia艂a艅 zmusza艂y ich komunistyczne w艂adze PRL, kt贸re ogranicza艂y i cenzurowa艂y szczeg贸lnie te obszary nauki i kultury.

Publikacja sk艂ada si臋 z dw贸ch cz臋艣ci. W pierwszej przedstawiono genez臋, znaczenie, powstanie i opis funkcjonowania niezale偶nych wyk艂ad贸w organizowanych przez Towarzystwo Kurs贸w Naukowych w Warszawie, Krakowie, Wroc艂awiu i innych o艣rodkach akademickich. Nast臋pnie pokazano reakcj臋 na te wyk艂ady (pozytywn膮 – Ko艣cio艂a i negatywn膮 – w艂adz politycznych i S艂u偶by Bezpiecze艅stwa). Opisano dzia艂ania maj膮ce na celu rozbijanie wyk艂ad贸w, kt贸re zako艅czy艂y si臋 u偶yciem si艂y fizycznej przez zorganizowane przez w艂adz臋 boj贸wki. W rezultacie TKN musia艂 zawiesi膰 otwarte wyk艂ady przeprowadzane w prywatnych mieszkaniach i zacz膮艂 je organizowa膰 w ko艣cio艂ach albo w postaci zamkni臋tych zaj臋膰 seminaryjnych. Rozbudowano te偶 w贸wczas podziemn膮 dzia艂alno艣膰 wydawnicz膮, udost臋pniaj膮c publicznie wyniki bada艅 niezale偶nych naukowc贸w, nie tylko z historii i literatury, ale te偶 z ekonomii, pedagogiki i filozofii politycznej. Zbudowano te偶 system stypendialny wspieraj膮cy m艂odych naukowc贸w niemog膮cych prowadzi膰 bada艅 w ramach oficjalnych studi贸w. Uzyskano bardzo szerokie poparcie, r贸wnie偶 finansowe, od polskiej emigracji (szczeg贸lnie J. Giedroycia i Radia Wolna Europa), a tak偶e wsparcie od 艣rodowisk naukowych, intelektualnych i nauczycielskich z Zachodu (szczeg贸lnie z USA, Wielkiej Brytanii i Francji). Rozpocz臋to te偶 wsp贸艂prac臋 ze 艣rodowiskiem nauczycielskim, czego efektem by艂 Lataj膮cy Og贸lniak przygotowuj膮cy m艂odych ludzi do studi贸w, a tak偶e szeroko kolportowany List do nauczycieli. Wiele pracy ideowej w艂o偶ono w przywr贸cenie etosu niezale偶nej inteligencji, odpowiedzialnej za spo艂ecze艅stwo, a tak偶e w odbudow臋 tradycji polskiej refleksji politycznej i 艣wiatopogl膮dowej. W drugiej cz臋艣ci ksi膮偶ki TKN pokazano w 艣wietle dokument贸w, wybranych, u艂o偶onych i opracowanych przez Marka Kunickiego-Goldfingera.

Sunday 20 October 2024

Miklos M眉ller oral history and Istv谩n De谩k interview accessioned a the Rockefeller Archives Center

 Miklos M眉ller oral history and Istv谩n De谩k interview accessioned a the Rockefeller Archives Center

This message is to announce the accession of the Miklos M眉ller oral history, along with an accompanying interview with Istv谩n De谩k, to the Rockefeller Archives Center (Accession #s 2024:077 and 2024:078). M眉ller and De谩k were both members of the “Hungarian Roundtable” that met for decades, and the interviews will be of interest to historians of science, Hungary, World War II, the Cold War, the Hungarian diaspora in New York City, and post-Cold War studies.

Contact Information

William deJong-Lambert

william.dejong-lambert(at)bcc.cuny.ed

Agnodike Travel Research Fellowships

 Agnodike Travel Research Fellowships

Commission on Women and Gender in History of Science, Technology, and Medicine

Division of History of Science and Technology, International Union of History and Philosophy of Science and Technology



2024–2025 Competition: Applications Due 5 November 2024


The Commission on Women and Gender Studies in History of Science, Technology and Medicine offers biannually a research travel fellowship of up to 1000€ to scholars who are either in their final stages of their doctoral research or in the early stages of their post-doctoral research but still within five years of receiving the PhD.


The Agnodike, named after the first female physician and midwife in ancient Greece (4th c. BCE), is intended exclusively for transportation and accommodation expenses incurred by early career scholars who are conducting research in archives anywhere in the world. To be eligible, applicants must be in the early stages of their careers—within 5 years of receiving their PhDs. Eligibility is independent of gender, nationality, ethnicity or the location of the applicant’s academic institution or site of research. The Agnodike is offered globally but only on topics concerning women and gender studies in history of science, technology and medicine.


The Commission requires an application in English, preferably one PDF file that consists of a cover letter, a research proposal (1500 words or less), CV, a detailed budget of anticipated travel-related expenses (transportation, lodging, etc.), list of other funding sources (pending or received)*, and two letters of recommendation, one being from the PhD advisor. (*Note:  Only expenses not covered by other funding sources are eligible for reimbursement under this grant.) The research proposal should specify a work plan for the research during the fellowship period and the required travel. The awardee of the research grant will receive an invitation to present her/his work in the closest forthcoming symposium organized by the Commission. All applications must be submitted no later than 5 November 2024. The selection committee’s review will take into consideration the proposal’s quality, clarity, specificity, and alignment with the Commission’s focus on women and gender studies. Awards will be extended for use between late Autumn 2024 through Summer 2025. Submit applications to the attention of Dr. Isabelle L茅monon, Treasurer: ilemonon@gmail.com.


The Commission on Women and Gender Studies in History of Science, Technology and Medicine was founded in 1981 by the General Assembly of the International Union of the History and Philosophy of Science and Technology (IUHPST). The Commission promotes communication among scholars working on women’s history and gender studies in the history of science, technology and medicine and fosters research in these areas. The Commission sponsors symposia at the quadrennial International Congresses of the IUHPST’s Division of History of Science and Technology (DHST) and, in between the Congresses, further conferences on women and gender studies in history of science, technology, and medicine. For more information please visit our website https://agnodike.org/, request to be added to our electronic mailing list (send an email to nuritki@openu.ac.il), or “like” our Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/cowogs.


URL: https://agnodike.org/scholar-resources/agnodike-travel-research-fellowship/

Leszek Zasztowt: Under a Double Headed Eagle: J贸zef Mianowski. Biography of a Conservative.

Leszek Zasztowt: Under a Double Headed Eagle: J贸zef Mianowski. Biography of a Conservative. Amsterdam: Brill 2024. ISBN: 978-3-506-79472-7 W...