HPS Seminar Series

The McGill HPS seminar is a revived interdisciplinary group seeking to bring together scholars from all four universities in Montreal who work in the history and philosophy of science and various aspects of science and technology studies. We warmly invite all interested scholars to come and participate in our seminar series. Sessions will be followed by an informal social hour at Thomson House.

Seminars

This term the McGill HPS series continues with a selection of seminar presentations and public lectures. All are welcome. Please note the variations in day, time, and place.

Ce semestre, notre série revient, avec des conférences en format atelier, et des conférences publiques. Ouvert à tou(te)s. Veuillez noter les changements d'horaire, de jour et de lieu.

Winter Term 2013 / Semestre d'hiver 2013

Thursday, March 14, 5:30 pm
Lisa Nakamura (University of Michigan)
I Will Do Everything That I am Asked: Spambaiting, Dogshaming, and the Racial Violence of Social Media
Arts West 215
(co-sponsored with AHCS)
Abstract: The “trophy room” of 419eater.com, a site with over 48,000 registered members, is full of images of African men and women holding signs penned with demeaning slogans or engaged in ridiculous acts, such as men wearing women’s bras and posing with a fish held near their heads. While some of these are humorous, such as “I can’t believe it’s not butter,” many are designed to render their holder abject, such as “I will do everything that I am asked.”  These images were contributed by "spambaiters," Internet vigilantes who trick would-be Internet scammers as punishment for their crimes. This paper will explore the genealogy, distribution, aesthetics, and visual history of this “shaming” meme across Tumblr, image trophy rooms, and other image and discussion boards. The root of the shaming meme in social media’s visual cultures of racial abjection reminds us of the digital pillory’s hidden history.

Fall Term 2012 / Semestre d'automne 2012

Thursday, 4 October, 5:30 pm
Janet Vertesi (Princeton)
Seeing like a Rover: Images and Interactions on the Mars Exploration Rover Mission
Arts West 215
(co-sponsored with AHCS)

Friday, 12 October, 2 pm
Margaret Rossiter (Cornell)
History of Women in Science and Medicine: Reflections on a Century
Redpath Museum Auditorium
(Beatty Lecture, co-sponsored by the Faculties of Science, Medicine, and MISC)
(part of the symposium on Women in Science, Engineering and Medicine, 12-13 October:
http://www.mcgill.ca/science/events/outreach/wisems)

Thursday, 25 October, 5:30 pm
Dániel Margócsy (CUNY Hunter College)
The Well Temper’d Engraver: Newtonian Optics, Theories of Proportion, and the Invention of Color Printing
Arts West 215
(co-sponsored with AHCS)

All are welcome / Ouvert à tou(te)s.

In addition to the co-sponsorship mentioned above,
the series is supported by the SSHRC project "Situating Science" http://www.situsci.ca/