7 March 2017
Organised by:
SCI's London Group in partnership with UCL's Chemical & Physical Society
UCL, London, UK
This event is no longer available for registration.
The history of the chemical laboratory between 1760 and 1840 has tended to focus on purpose-built and dedicated sites such as the laboratories of Lavoisier or Faraday. This talk proposes that much chemical inquiry took place in adapted spaces in this period, such as the home, and was shaped by domestic notions of oeconomy, the proper social and material management of the household.
In this talk, Simon Werrett (UCL), will focus in particular on the way domestic material culture provided resources for experimentation, and consider the 'incompleteness' of resulting instruments, as they were adapted and underwent alterations and repairs. Oeconomy, Werrett will suggest, proposed that householders should care for material culture in the home, balancing the use of old goods with the purchase of new, and stewarding possessions through care, maintenance and repairs. What emerges then is a picture of chemical experimentation in the period 1760 to 1840 in which the re-use of old things was as significant a part of chemistry as the invention or consumption of new. The history of oeconomic chemistry offers potential insights into the future sustainability of experimentation.
SCI accessibility grants are available to support SCI members with disabilities, long term health conditions, those who require a carer, and members who are nursing parents to attend SCI events. Download an application form to apply for a grant.
UCL
Department of Chemistry
University College London
20 Gordon Street
London, WC1H 0AJ
Emma Thomas
Tel: +44 (0) 20 7598 1594
Email: communications@soci.org
This is a FREE event. No need to book. Please check this page for any updates or changes before attending the event.
Sign up as an Event Member to join this event. SCI Full or Student Members receive discounts on event registrations
SCI Members attending this meeting are able to claim CPD points.
Dr Simon Werrett, UCL