Historians and philosophers of science offer 18 papers from a European Science Foundation workshop held in Uppsala, Sweden, in February 1996, explore such questions as how textbooks differ from other forms of chemical literature, under what conditions they become established as a genre, whether they develop a specific rhetoric, how their audiences help shape the profile of chemistry, translations, and other topics. Only names are indexed.
This book includes most of the contributions presented at a conference on “Univ- sities and Science in the Early Modern Period” held in 1999 in Valencia, Spain. The conference was part of the “Five Centuries of the Life of the University of Valencia” (Cinc Segles) celebrations, and from the outset we had the generous support of the “Patronato” (Foundation) overseeing the events. In recent decades, as a result of a renewed attention to the institutional, political, social, and cultural context of scienti?c activity, we have witnessed a reappraisal of the role of the universities in the construction and development of early modern science. In essence, the following conclusions have been reached: (1) the attitudes regarding scienti?c progress or novelty differed from country to country and follow differenttrajectoriesinthecourseoftheearlymodernperiod;(2)institutionsofhigher learning were the main centers of education for most scientists; (3) although the universities were sometimes slow to assimilate new scienti?c knowledge, when they didsoithelpednotonlytoremovethesuspicionthatthenewsciencewasintellectually subversivebutalsotomakesciencearespectableandevenprestigiousactivity;(4)the universities gave the scienti?c movement considerable material support in the form of research facilities such as anatomical theaters, botanical gardens, and expensive instruments; (5) the universities provided professional employment and a means of support to many scientists; and (6) although the relations among the universities and the academies or scienti?c societies were sometimes antagonistic, the two types of institutionsoftenworkedtogetherinharmony,performingcomplementaryratherthan competing functions; moreover, individuals moved from one institution to another, as did knowledge, methods, and scienti?c practices.
This volume offers a reappraisal of the topic of scientific and technological traveling and takes the viewpoint of the European peripheries, including case studies of Portugal, Spain, Greece, Turkey, Russia, Hungary and the Scandinavian countries. It contributes to the clarification of mechanisms of appropriation of scientific ideas, instruments, practices and of technological expertise. It is of interest to scholars and students of history and philosophy of science and technology, cultural and social history, science, technology and society studies.
This volume consists of two parts. The first deals with alchemy andprelavoisian chemistry with papers on Democritus, Christine of Pizan, vanHelmont, de Clave, Matte La Faveur, Marie Meurdrac and Galvani. The secondpart includes papers on chemistry in the 20th century in its political, academic and industrial context
