Histoires orales de la médecine

Oral histories of Science, Technology and Medicine

Call for papers

The 2015 Annual Conference of the Oral History Society in conjunction with Royal Holloway University of London and the Oral History of British Science at the British Library, with support from the Wellcome Trust

Royal Holloway, University of London, Egham, Surrey TW20 0EX, UK
From 10th July 2015 To 11th July 2015

What can oral history and life story methodologies bring to the study of the history of science, technology and medicine? How have historians of science, technology and medicine made use of personal memory and narratives in their research?

This conference will explore the theoretical and practical challenges of using oral history-based techniques in the broad areas of the histories of science, mathematics, engineering, technology and medicine, and welcomes contributions which use oral history to: 

• Understand change in medicine and science 
• Consider the links between organisational history and memory 
• Juxtapose oral history with other historical sources 
• Review the cultural interface between history, memory and technology 
• Uncover personal reflections on technological and medical innovation and change 
• Examine ways in which memory can be used to interpret and engage with wider public audiences about current scientific issues in, for example, biomedicine, the environment and lifestyle choices 

This conference would bring into dialogue oral historians, historians of science, technology and medicine, medical sociologists, technologists, archivists, the scientific humanities, and heritage professionals working in museums, higher education, broadcasting and other media.

Proposal Invitation

We invite proposals for oral history-based contributions, including papers, panels, presentations, workshops, posters and displays on the following topics:

1. Personal voices:

• What scientists, engineers, mathematicians and clinicians do Interviewee perspectives
• The methodological challenges of interviewing practitioners and theorists Myth and story in the workplace
• Hidden and unheard voices from the science and medicine workplace

2. Institutional voices:

• Health Service perspectives
• Government science and industrial science
• Companies, research laboratories and corporations in science and engineering Place, space and communities of identity
• Private medical institutions
• Oral histories of professional organisations

3. Community voices:

• Amateur science
• Traditional medicine
• Crowdsourcing
• Local communities and scientific workplaces
• Understanding technologies in everyday life
• User perspectives on science and technology

4. Issues-led oral history:

• Global warming and environmental change
• Gender and ethnicity in the scientific workplace
• Informal communities
• Science and the media: the role of history and personal stories

5. Science policy and politics:

• The role of government
• The privatisation of science and technology
• Professionalisation and professional politics
• The management and administration of science and medicine

6. Innovation and invention:

• Oral history and understanding the process of invention and maintaining existing beliefs
• Creating, archiving and re-using oral histories of science, technology and medicine:
• Funding and ethics
• Using video in documenting science practice
• Re-using and reinterpreting archived oral history data

7. Archivist perspectives

• Juxtaposing oral and traditional sources
• Public engagement, display and exhibition which uses oral history

Proposal Requirements

Proposals should be submitted by 1 December 2014 and include: a title, an abstract of between 250-300 words, your name (and the names of any co-presenters, panelists etc), your institution or organisation, your email address, and a note of any particular requirements. Most importantly your abstract should demonstrate the use of oral history or personal testimony.

Proposals should be emailed to the Oral Histories of Science, Technology and Medicine Conference Administrator, Belinda Waterman, at belinda@essex.ac.uk. They will be assessed anonymously by the conference organisers, and presenters will be contacted in January 2015.