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Approaches to the Heritage of Recent Science and Technology (Pp Insights and Experiments Interview with Thomas Söderqvist Söderqvist, Thomas Published in: Challenging Collections DOI: 10.5479/si.9781944466121 Publication date: 2017 Document version Publisher's PDF, also known as Version of record Document license: Unspecified Citation for published version (APA): Söderqvist, T. (2017). Insights and Experiments: Interview with Thomas Söderqvist. In A. Boyle, & J-G. Hagmann (Eds.), Challenging Collections: Approaches to the Heritage of Recent Science and Technology (pp. 228-231). Washington D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Scholarly Press. Artefacts: Studies in the History of Science and Technology, Vol.. 11 https://doi.org/10.5479/si.9781944466121 Download date: 09. Apr. 2020 https:// Boyle and Hagmann artefacts science and technology of studies in the history Volume 11 Managing Editor Martin Collins, Smithsonian Institution Series Editors Robert Bud, Science Museum, London Bernard Finn, Smithsonian Institution Helmuth Trischler, Deutsches Museum his most recent volume in the Artefacts series, Challenging Collections: Ap- Challenging Collections Tproaches to the Heritage of Recent Science and Technology, focuses on the question of collecting post–World War II scientific and technological heritage in museums, and the challenging issue of how such artifacts can be displayed and interpreted for diverse publics. In addition to examples of practice, editors Alison Boyle and Johannes-Geert Hagmann have invited prominent historians and cura- tors to reflect on the nature of recent scientific and technological heritage, and to challenge the role of museum collections in the twenty-first century. Challenging Collections will certainly be part of an ever-evolving dialogue among communities of collectors and scholars seeking to keep pace with the changing landscapes of sci- ence and technology, museology, and historiography. Alison Boyle is Keeper of Science Collections at the Science Museum, London, United Kingdom. Johannes-Geert Hagmann is head of Curatorial Department AII–Technology at the Deutsches Museum in Munich, Germany. Contributors: Anna Adamek, Olov Amelin, Teresa Anderson, Robert Bud, Serge Chambaud, Martin Collins, Rosie Cook, Catherine Cuenca, John Durant, Kristin Ø. Gjerde, James Hyslop, Osamu Kamei, Jennifer Landry, Henry Lowood, Tim O’Brien, Dominique Pestre, Karen A. Rader, Finn H. Sandberg, Dagmar Schäfer, Jia-Ou Song, Thomas Söderqvist, and Roland Wittje artefacts science and technology of studies in the history Challenging Collections https://scholarlypress.si.edu approaches to the heritage of recent science and technology ISBN (print): 978-1-944466-10-7 ISBN (online): 978-1-94466-12-1 Edited by Alison Boyle and Johannes-Geert Hagmann Available for download at Open SI (http://opensi.si.edu) artefacts science and technology science and of history in the studies Challenging Collections Approaches to the Heritage of Recent Science and Technology Edited by Alison Boyle and Johannes- Geert Hagmann volume 11 Managing Editor Martin Collins, Smithsonian Institution Series Editors Robert Bud, Science Museum, London Bernard Finn, Smithsonian Institution Helmuth Trischler, Deutsches Museum Smithsonian Institution Scholarly Press Washington, D.C. 2017 The series “Artefacts: Studies in the History of Science and Technology” was established in 1996 under joint sponsorship by the Deutsches Museum (Munich), the Science Museum (London), and the Smithsonian Institution (Washington, DC). Subsequent sponsoring museums include Canada Science and Technology Museum; Museo Galileo–Istituto e Museo Nazionale di Storia della Scienza; Medicinsk Museion København Universitet; MIT Museum; Musée des Arts et Métiers; Museum Boerhaave; Národní Technické Museum, Prague; National Museums of Scotland; Norsk Teknisk Museum; Országos Mu˝szaki Múzeum Tanulmánytára (Hungarian Museum for S&T); Technisches Museum Wien; Tekniska Museet–Stockholm; The Bakken; Whipple Museum of the History of Science. Editorial Advisory Board Robert Anderson, Cambridge University Jim Bennett, Museum of the History of Science, University of Oxford Ruth Cowan, University of Pennsylvania Bryan Dewalt, Canada Science and Technology Museum Robert Friedel, University of Maryland Ulf Hashagen, Deutsches Museum Sungook Hong, Seoul National University David Hounshell, Carnegie Mellon University Otmar Moritsch, Technisches Museum Wien Peter J. T. Morris, Science Museum David Rhees, The Bakken Thomas Söderqvist, Medicinsk Museion København Universitet Liba Taub, Whipple Museum of the History of Science Hans Weinberger, Norsk Teknisk Museum Helena Wright, Smithsonian Institution Tom Zeller, University of Maryland Published by SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION SCHOLARLY PRESS P.O. Box 37012, MRC 957 Washington, D.C. 20013- 7012 https://scholarlypress .si .edu Compilation copyright © 2017 by Smithsonian Institution Chapter 3 is in the public domain. The rights to all other text and images in this publication, including cover and interior designs, are owned either by the Smithsonian Institution, by contributing authors, or by third parties. Fair use of materials is permitted for personal, educational, or noncommercial purposes. Users must cite author and source of content, must not alter or modify copyrighted content, and must comply with all other terms or restrictions that may be applicable. Users are responsible for securing permission from a rights holder for any other use. Cover image: Illumina Chips. Photo by Thomas Söderqvist. Library of Congress Cataloging- in- Publication Data Names: Boyle, Alison, 1977– editor. | Hagmann, Johannes- Geert, editor. | Smithsonian Institution Scholarly Press, publisher. Title: Challenging collections : approaches to the heritage of recent science and technology / edited by Alison Boyle and Johannes- Geert Hagmann. Other titles: Approaches to the heritage of recent science and technology | Artefacts series ; v. 11. Description: Washington, D.C. : Smithsonian Institution Scholarly Press, 2017. | Series: Artefacts: Studies in the History of Science and Technology ; volume 11 | Includes bibliographical references and index. Identifiers: LCCN 2017003406| ISBN 9781944466107 (print) | ISBN 9781944466121 (online) Subjects: LCSH: Technology and civilization. | Science and civilization. | Cultural property—Protection. | Museums—Collection management. | Museum exhibits—Social aspects. | Science museums. | Scientific apparatus and instruments—Collectors and collecting. Classification: LCC CB478 .C4935 2017 | DDC 303.48/3—dc23 | SUDOC SI 1.2:SCI 2/5 LC record available at https:// lccn .loc .gov / 2017003406 ISBN- 13 (print): 978- 1- 944466- 10- 7 ISBN- 13 (online): 978- 1- 944466- 12- 1 Printed in the United States of America Ó The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of the American National Standard for Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials Z39.48–1992. Contents Series Preface by Martin Collins v Introduction by Alison Boyle and Johannes- Geert Hagmann vi Reflection CHAPTER 1 The Sciences between Technical Demiurgy, Economic Matters of Fact, and Political Regulations: Historical Overview, Current Situation, and Normative Principles by Dominique Pestre 2 Conceptualizing Contemporary Collecting CHAPTER 2 A Tape Measure and a “T” Stop: Or, Why Museums of Science and Technology Should Collect More Contemporary Artifacts by John Durant 24 CHAPTER 3 History as Intellectual and Organizational Tool in Creating a Collections Rationale: The Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum’s Spaceflight Artifacts as Case Study by Martin Collins 40 CHAPTER 4 Understanding “Contemporary Collecting”: Modern Collecting at the Science Museum by Robert Bud 50 CHAPTER 5 Software Archives and Software Libraries by Henry Lowood 68 Networks of Collecting CHAPTER 6 Interpreting the Collection and Display of Contemporary Science in Chinese Museums as a Reflection of Science in Society by Dagmar Schäfer and Jia- Ou Song 88 CHAPTER 7 A National Program for Safeguarding Scientific and Technical Heritage by Catherine Cuenca and Serge Chambaud 104 Dialogue and Diversity CHAPTER 8 Collecting Twentieth- Century Chemistry: A Reevaluation of Collecting Philosophy and Goals at the Chemical Heritage Foundation by Jennifer Landry and Rosie Cook 116 CHAPTER 9 A Snapshot of Canadian Kitchens: Collecting Contemporary Technologies as Historical Evidence for Future Research by Anna Adamek 134 CHAPTER 10 Preserving Norway’s Oil Heritage by Finn H. Sandberg and Kristin Ø. Gjerde 150 CHAPTER 11 The Balance between Recent Heritage and Ongoing Research: The Case of Jodrell Bank Observatory by Teresa Anderson and Tim O’Brien 168 Alternative Approaches CHAPTER 12 Against Method: A Story- Based Approach to Acquiring Artifacts from Nobel Laureates by Olov Amelin 184 CHAPTER 13 Hands- on Science Centers as Anticollections? The Origins and Implications of the Exploratorium Exhibits Model by Karen A. Rader 198 Insights and Experiments Interview with James Hyslop 216 Interview with Osamu Kamei 219 Interview with Roland Wittje 223 Interview with Thomas Söderqvist 228 About the Contributors 233 Index 239 Series Preface Science and technology have been defining elements of the modern era. They have entered into our lives in large and small ways—through broad understandings of the universe and in the tools and objects that make up the texture of everyday life. They have been preeminent activities for organizing expertise and specialized knowledge, in defining power and progress, and in shaping the development of nations and our relations with others across
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