The British Society for the History of Science BSHS ANNUAL CONFERENCE University of York 6-9 July 2017 Contents Emergency Contact Details .......................................................................................................................................... iii Welcome to the BSHS 2017 Annual Conference! ................................................................................................ 4 Local Gazetteer .................................................................................................................................................................. 5 Travelling Around and Meals ...................................................................................................................................... 6 Campus Maps ..................................................................................................................................................................... 7 Social Media Guidelines .............................................................................................................................................. 10 Outline Programme ...................................................................................................................................................... 11 Special Events ................................................................................................................................................................. 15 York Science Trail ..................................................................................................................................................... 15 Containment ................................................................................................................................................................ 15 All Enquiries Wellcome .......................................................................................................................................... 15 National Railway Museum Visit .......................................................................................................................... 15 Borthwick Institute for Archives Visit ............................................................................................................. 16 Full Listing of Academic Sessions ........................................................................................................................... 18 Abstracts ........................................................................................................................................................................... 31 Abstracts for Themed Sessions ........................................................................................................................... 31 Abstracts for Individual Papers .......................................................................................................................... 38 List of Participants ...................................................................................................................................................... 106 Publishers at the Conference .................................................................................................................................. 108 Joining the BSHS ........................................................................................................................................................... 109 Donating to the BSHS ................................................................................................................................................. 109 Credits and Acknowledgments .............................................................................................................................. 112 Emergency Contact Details University of York Accommodation and Conference Venue Contact Details for Accommodation in Alcuin College Alcuin Porter, Alcuin College University of York, York YO10 5DD Tel: 01904 323100 Security/Emergencies while on the University of York Campus 24-hour onsite Campus Security team 01904 324444 In an emergency, dial 01904 323333 Emergency Services (Police, Ambulance or Fire) Off-Campus Dial 999 for emergency services York St John University Accommodation Contact Details for Accommodation at Lord Mayor’s Walk, York St John Porter’s Lodge, St Anthony’s House, St John’s University Campus, Lord Mayor’s Walk, York YO31 7EX Tel: 01904 624624 Security/Emergencies while on the York St John Campus 24-hour onsite Campus Security team 01904 876444 For non-emergencies, dial 01904 876777 Welcome to the BSHS 2017 Annual Conference! With over 220 delegates, this year’s conference in York promises to be the biggest the BSHS has ever held – and as we’ll be celebrating our 70th birthday, it will also be exceptionally convivial. Planning started two years ago, and we owe enormous thanks to all the people who have been working extraordinarily hard to make sure this event will be an outstanding success. The full list of collaborators is long, but three deserve special gratitude for putting together such a marvellous programme: Adam Mosley, Chair of our Conferences Committee; Sabine Clarke, our local organiser in York; and Frank James, the programme coordinator. The diversity of this conference is clear: on the academic programme topics range in time from the tenth century right up to the present day, and cover everything (and much more!) from museums to microscopy, ghosts to genetics, Airy to aphasia. More importantly given the current political situation, this conference ranges all across the globe. We have speakers arriving from 19 different countries, and they will be taking us in our imaginations to locations as varied as Canton and Leningrad, Korea and Saudi Arabia, the Himalayas and the Arctic, Bengal, Oslo, Barcelona and Egypt. This 70th birthday presents an ideal opportunity for reflection not only on what the BSHS has achieved in the past, but also on what direction it hopes to take in the future. The annual Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) will take place at Saturday lunchtime, and all members are warmly invited. Please do come and voice your opinion about what your Society should be doing. There are several important matters to discuss. The first, consolidating our international status, has already been considered at previous EGMs. We are determined to be an outward- looking Society that transcends the Britishness of our name and are delighted to be hosting the European (ESHS) conference in London next year. Your Vice-President, Greg Radick, has invited eight International Advisors to work with the BSHS Council; they have all accepted with gratifying alacrity and enthusiasm, so we hope you will officially elect them at the EGM. The Council would also welcome suggestions from you about improving diversity and accessibility, both at BSHS functions and on our website. Another problem we need to discuss is the position we should adopt when asked to write or sign letters of protest: however worthwhile the cause, we are a charity bound by rules of political non-activity. The most urgent challenge facing the BSHS is lamentably familiar: we are desperately short of funds. For the last few years, we have enjoyed the privilege of distributing relatively large sums of money for travel grants, conferences and student support because in 2013, the Manchester conference made a large surplus. The Council of that time decided to spend the money rather than investing it, and it soon became clear that we were playing an absolutely vital role in sustaining scholarship and increasing public awareness. That money has now run out, and our admirably sensible treasurer, Miles Parker, has told us the obvious: if we want to continue supporting our discipline, we need to fundraise. Lucy Santos, our indispensable secretary, has set up a web page describing how you can help either by donating now or by leaving a legacy in your will: http://www.bshs.org.uk/fundraising. There will also be opportunities for you to contribute at the conference – and of course, donations of all sizes, small as well as large, are deeply appreciated. But, to end on a more positive note, a warm welcome and many thanks for making this a marvellous conference. Patricia Fara BSHS President 4 Local Gazetteer ATM On Campus: at Market Square on Heslington West. Off Campus: many banks have branches and ATMs on Parliament Street. Bookshops Off Campus: Waterstones, 15 Coney Street YO1 9QL or for second-hand books, Ken Spelman, 70 Micklegate, York YO1 6LF Breakfast In Alcuin College: Quarks Restaurant, National Science Learning Centre - Monday to Friday 07.30 – 09.00 and Saturday and Sunday 08.00 – 10.00. At York St John: Holgate Dining Room, 07.30 – 08.30. Buses Delegates arriving by train can take bus number 66 to reach the campus of the University of York. For Alcuin College delegates will need to alight at the Library Bridge stop. The bus then continues to the Ron Cooke Hub. Travel by bus between Library Bridge and the Ron Cook Hub is free and the journey time is around 5-10 minutes. It is possible to walk to Lord Mayor’s Walk (York St John campus) from the station. Delegates with accommodation at Lord Mayor’s Walk can take the number 56 from Kings Manor in the centre of York to reach the University of York campus. Coaches are provided every morning to take delegates to the Ron Cooke Hub (see the section of this booklet on Travelling Around and Meals). Cafés There is a café in the Library on the University of York campus and a large