Globalizing Histories of Science, Technology, and Medicine: Conceptual and Methodological Problems

See April 19 for companion evening event

Since its inception, the History of Science, Technology, and Medicine (HSTM) field has been dominated by studies written in a national, colonial, or area studies frame. This remains the case today, although recent scholarship has increasingly drawn attention to the significance of global transmission and exchanges of technical knowledge, materials, and experts in shaping the process of scientific, technological, and medical change in regions around the world. Yet, as historians have moved towards writing global histories, significant conceptual and methodological challenges have arisen. This workshop provides a forum for leading HSTM scholars to collectively develop new approaches and paradigms that address key problems concerning categories of analysis, spatial units, chronological frameworks, and social power and agency. Additionally, the workshop considers how global histories of science, technology, and medicine can inform present-day policy making in the fields of public health, cultural heritage, and science education and research. 

Convened by

Lauren Minsky Assistant Professor of History, NYUAD

Hugh Slotten Senior Lecturer, University of Otago 

Justin Stearns Assistant Professor in Arab Crossroads Studies, NYUAD

Related Links

• Agenda

Convened by

• Justin Stearns, Associate Professor of Arab Crossroads Studies, NYUAD