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First Circular of The 25th ICHST - Rio de Janeiro - 2017-1
First Circular of The 25th ICHST - Rio de Janeiro - 2017-1
FIRST CIRCULAR
WEBPAGE - http://www.ichst2017.sbhc.org.br
MEMBERS
Ana BARAHONA (National Autonomous University of Mexico)
Michel BLAY (Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, France)
THE THEME, THE CITY AND THE VENUE OF THE 25TH ICHST
This is the first circular of the 25th International Congress of History of Science and
Technology (ICHST), which will be held in the city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from 23 to
29 July 2017, with the general theme Science, Technology and Medicine between the
Global and the Local.
Questions of place are gaining increasing importance in the work of historians of
science, technology and medicine, to such an extent that some scholars suggest this
corresponds to a veritable "spatial turn". It is unavoidable that researchers take sides
on issues such as the situatedness of knowledge and practices, the problems pertaining to their movements across spaces and cultures (and not only along time) and,
above all, the proper choice of scales of analysis all the way between the global and the
local, which is the core of the 25th ICHSTs theme. At the same time, this theme relates to
the very nature of the Congress as the largest international gathering of historians of
science, technology and medicine, inviting all of us to think about what we may say to and
learn from each other, considering our own multifarious places and standpoints.
The 25th ICHST will be held in the Praia Vermelha campus of the Federal University of
Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), located in one of the most beautiful and touristic regions in the
city, served by various forms of public transport and close to important clusters of
hotels, beaches, and numerous artistic and cultural attractions.
Rio de Janeiro city is also one of the principal locations of important teaching and
research institutions concerned with the History of Science, Technology and Medicine;
a field of study which has developed significantly in Brazil in the last 30 years, and of
which the Brazilian Society for the History of Science (Sociedade Brasileira de Histria
da Cincia - SBHC) is the principal representative of this area of knowledge. SBHC and
the Division of History of Science and Technology of the International Union of History
and Philosophy of Science and Technology (IUHPST/DHST) have joined forces for the
organization of the 25th ICHST.
We hope to receive for the 25th ICHST researchers from various continents for this event,
which will be held in South America and the Southern Hemisphere for the first time.
SCHEDULED ACTIVITIES
Among the activities scheduled for the 25th ICHST are conferences, proposed thematic
symposia, sessions of proposed stand-alone papers, symposia organized by DHSTs
Commissions, joint symposia organized by UIHPST inter-division Commissions and by
inter-union Commissions. The programme for the 25th ICHST will be defined by the
International Programme Committee (IPC), which will evaluate proposed activities,
which should be submitted within the deadlines stipulated in the event timetable.
Various plenary activities and assemblies will be held during the 25th ICHST, such as
the International Academy of History of Sciences General Assembly. There will be two
sessions of the DHST general assembly and plenary sessions of Commissions which act
within this Division. The DHST Young Scholars Prize will be awarded during the Congress.
In addition to this, various cultural and social activities will also be held during the
event, including some receptions, a congress dinner, music concerts, tours, visits and
excursions, which will be proposed in due time by the Local Organizing Committee (LOC).
SPONSORS
To finance the organization and holding of the 25th ICHST, we are initially counting on
the support of three large institutions concerned with the teaching and research of the
History of Science, Technology, and Medicine in Rio de Janeiro: the Post-Graduate
Programme in the History of Science, Technology, and Epistemology of the Federal
University of Rio de Janeiro (HCTE/UFRJ); the Museum of Astronomy and Related
Sciences (MAST); and Casa de Oswaldo Cruz of the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation
(COC/FIOCRUZ). In accordance with formal commitments given by the boards of these
institutions to the Brazilian Society for the History of Science (Sociedade Brasileira de
Histria da Cincia SBHC), they will provide material support for the activities of the
25th ICHST. In addition, the Presidents Office of UFRJ has promised to provide part of
the infrastructure necessary for the activities of the 25th International Congress,
especially in relation to audio-visual and information technology resources.
On the other hand, Brazilian funding agencies have also made a formal commitment to
support the 25th ICHST. Funds should thus be provided by two federal agencies, the
National Scientific and Technological Development Council (Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Cientfico e Tecnolgico CNPq) and the Coordination for the Training
of Higher Level Personnel (Coordenao de Aperfeioamento de Pessoal de Nvel
Superior CAPES), and the Rio de Janeiro state funding agency, the Rio de Janeiro
Research Support Foundation (Fundao de Amparo Pesquisa do Rio de Janeiro FAPERJ).
In the governmental sphere, the Ministry of Science, Technology, and Innovation
(MCTI) and the Rio de Janeiro city government have also signed formal agreements
with SBHC to provide material aid to hold the activities of the 25th ICHST.
15 June 2015
1 September 2015
30 April 2016
1 May 2016
30 June 2016
1 November 2016
25 November 2016
30 November 2016
10 February 2017
13 February 2017
1 April 2017
14 April 2017
26 May 2017
30 June 2017
Congress opens
23 July 2017
Congress closes
29 July 2017
Programme Structure
The expected timetabling is as follows: each day of the Congress will be divided into
two half-day sessions, and each slot into two 90-minute slots (giving four slots per day).
Each Symposium must occupy at least two 90-minute slots (that is, one half-day), and
no more than 16 slots (four full days). We will timetable Symposia sequentially across
consecutive slots where possible, although this cannot always be guaranteed.
Organizers are strongly encouraged to request an even number of slots so that we can
allocate full mornings or full afternoons to Symposia. We are, however, willing to
consider (for instance) a three-slot Symposium. Five-slot Symposia are discouraged, as
this would give one full day of activities plus one isolated single slot on a different day.
Within the structure of 90-minute slots, Symposium organizers are free to propose any
arrangement of speakers. For instance, a session may contain at least three papers in
every 90 minutes slots, with or without commentators.
To minimize clashes, the International Programme Committee also reserves the right
to add papers from elsewhere to a Symposium.
The form will be taken down at midnight (East Brazilian Time) on Saturday 30 April
2016. No proposals can be considered after this point.
The International Programme Committee will send confirmations of all accepted
proposals to the named organizers, via the contact details given, by Thursday 30 June
2016. It will then be the responsibility of the Symposium organizers to ensure that their
speakers submit their individual abstracts via the individual paper submission system.
Organizers should note that no speaker will appear on the programme who has not
registered by Friday 30 June 2017. It is the organizers responsibility to make sure that
all potential speakers are aware of this.
Subject Coverage
The theme of the 25th International Congress is Science, Technology and Medicine
between the Global and the Local. We construe this theme broadly, and encourage
studies of the History of Science, Technology and Medicine at the global, national and
local levels, across all periods, and from a variety of methodological and historiographical approaches.
Presentation Format
Stand-alone submissions will normally be assembled thematically into groups of 4
presentations per 90-minute session. You should prepare a presentation of around 15
to 17 minutes duration, to be followed by 5 minutes of audience questions. Please
plan carefully: the very high volume of activity at the Congress means it will be
necessary to run strictly to time.
Each stand-alone paper session will be chaired by a Congress participant chosen by the
organizing committee, who will co-ordinate questions at the end of each presentation. The
stand-alone sessions will not normally feature commentaries or group question time.
All the Congress presentation rooms are equipped as standard with a Windows PC running
Powerpoint, Media Player, etc; LCD projector (beamer); projection screen; and audio
speakers. Microphones will be available in the largest rooms. Requests for additional
equipment may be made via the abstract submission form, but cannot be guaranteed.
LANGUAGES
Papers for Symposia or Stand-alone sessions may be presented in any of the following
languages: English, French, Spanish, German, Italian, Chinese, Portuguese, Russian and
Arabic. Descriptions of Symposia may be submitted in any of these languages, but
must be preceded by a French or English translation.
For review and documentation purposes, we require titles and abstracts for all
proposals to be submitted in English or French. If you will be presenting in another
language, please also supply an equivalent title and abstract in that language.
Unfortunately, we are unable to provide facilities for translation at the Congress.
CO-PRESENTERS
Most papers at the Congress are presented by sole authors. You may, however, submit
a co-authored paper to be co-presented by two or, if necessary, three authors. All
registered co-presenters should take an active role in delivering the paper.
If your research involves collaboration with colleagues who will not be attending the
Congress, please do not list them as co-presenters (see Attendance requirement).
Instead, please develop a solo paper based on the collaboration, crediting your
colleagues as appropriate in your talk.
ATTENDANCE REQUIREMENT
The central purpose of the Congress is to bring researchers together. Because of the
limitations of the timetable, offering space to discuss absent speakers papers would
mean denying important opportunities to others. Therefore, all presenters must
deliver their papers in person: please dont submit a proposal unless you intend to
travel to Rio de Janeiro to attend the Congress.
For co-authored papers, all co-authors must attend together. If you are collaborating
with another researcher who cant attend, please submit a single-authored paper, and
credit your co-author as appropriate in the talk.
If, following acceptance, you learn that you cannot attend the Congress, it is very
important that you inform the Congress organizers as quickly as possible so that your
time can be reallocated.
CLARIFICATION ON PUBLICATIONS
The Congress is not a publication conference of the kind which is conventional in
some academic fields. Our priority is to encourage discussion of current research, and
while presentations should, of course, be well-structured and coherent, they need not
REGISTRATION
Early registration opens on 13 February 2017 and closes on 14 April 2017. The final
date for registration is 30 June 2017. The full fee for early registration, until 14 April
2017, is USD 220 and the full late registration fee, until 30 June 2017, is USD 300.
At the relevant time the registration form will be available on this page, while the
forms of payment of the registration fee will also be specified, which will have to be
paid by conventional means, such as credit cards and PayPal.
Other facilities will also be offered by the organization of the 25th International
Congress and will be indicated in the future on the Congress webpage.
In general, the large majority of Brazilian and foreign tourists (who visit Rio de Janeiro)
prefer to stay in the hotel cluster of Copacabana-Leme, which is an area of coastal
beaches with many cultural and leisure options, as well being close to other beaches
such as Ipanema and Leblon and pleasant neighborhoods such as Lagoa, Gvea and
Jardim Botnico, which also offer many options in terms of restaurants, cafs, theatres, music venues and night clubs, the citys Botanical Gardens, the Jockey Club, parks
and urban forests (the immense Tijuca National Park).
The hotel cluster of Flamengo-Catete is in a part of Zona Sul which is closer to the City
Centre and to Santos Dumont Airport. Also in the region is the Catete Museum and
Park (the former Presidential Palace of the Brazilian Republic) and a large and pleasant
urban park, Flamengo Park, which houses the Monument to the Dead of the Second
World War, and the Modern Art Museum (MAM). Very close to this hotel cluster are
the traditional districts of Laranjeiras and Cosme Velho, with their palaces and old
mansions, as well as the Corcovado Railway Station, which links the region to the
monument of Christ the Redeemer, in one of the trips most sought after by national
and foreign tourists. The FlamengoCatete cluster is also well served by restaurants
and cafs and is very close to the district of Lapa, which is one of the great centres of
leisure and entertainment in Rio de Janeiro, with its restaurants, ballrooms and
nightclubs, which reinforce the Bohemian tradition in this area of the city that goes
back to the beginning of the twentieth century.