ESHS/HSS Annual Meeting

ESHS Presidential Lecture: Seeking Common Ground: Histories of the Sciences in Divisive Times

Session Submission Type: Plenary Session

English Abstract

The joint Edinburgh 2026 conference rightly celebrates plurality: the many histories of the many sciences that come into view through shifting perspectives. However, in a small field such as ours, foregrounding difference without also cultivating shared points of reference can thin and fragment conversations. This lecture offers a complementary approach by exploring common ground – questions and concerns that connect different areas of our field – while still recognising the diversity of sciences and scholarship across times and places.

Sub Unit

• ESHS/HSS Annual Meeting

Chair

• Simone Turchetti, University of Manchester

Presenter

• Kärin Nickelsen, LMU Munich