7th International Conference on the History of Chemistry

Topics: General Chemistry, Chemical Education, Keywords: History of Chemistry

Date: /2/3/4/5/ August 2009, Sopron, Hungary, Europe

Web Site, Contact: chemhist2009@mke.org.hu

  

Official Information:

Main Topic: "Consumers and Experts: The Uses of Chemistry (and Alchemy)"

There is a growing trend in the history of technology to examine the development and use of new technology from the user’s (or consumer’s) point of view rather than that of the innovator or producer which has hitherto been the predominant standpoint in that field. This shift in perspective can be particularly valuable for the history of chemistry since chemistry has always been seen as the supremely useful science. Its great utility has been praised for many centuries, whether it be to make gold for princes in the sixteenth century, improving crop yields in the nineteenth century or producing nanomaterials for the aerospace industry in the twenty-first century. It was supported because it was considered to underpin industry, agriculture and medicine. The social impact of chemistry has been considerable, helping to provide clean water and wholesome food, improved housing, and to increase the food supply in the face of a rapidly growing population. Less positively, chemistry has also been used in war, from explosives (and the fixed nitrogen needed to produce them) and poison gases to synthetic petrol and rubber. But the uses of chemistry go beyond the purely practical. Lecturers have made money from chemistry by giving courses on the subject both in universities and to the public at large. Chemistry has also been a major theme in international exhibitions and museums. The expertise of chemists has been used by lawyers to win patent disputes and murder trials, and by governments to develop policy. The uses of chemistry is a topic which branches out from the history of chemistry and alchemy to many other areas, ranging from the history of the chemical industry and pharmacy to the history of medicine, business and economic history, legal history, social history and cultural studies, and museums and the study of material culture. This conference aims at a better understanding of the different ways chemistry and alchemy have been “consumed” in countless ways over the last six or seven hundred years. It also seeks to explore how the consumers of chemicals and chemists were created in their social and economic context. For instance, how did firms generate a demand for their products? The range of potential topics is enormous but it is important in the framework of this conference that these topics should be discussed in terms of the viewpoint of the user or consumer.