The Conversationalist

Science & Technology News

The Constructing Scientific Communities Project explores citizen science in the 19th and 21st centuries. It brings together historical and literary research in the nineteenth century with contemporary scientific practice, looking at the ways in which patterns of popular communication and engagement in nineteenth-century science can offer models for current practice. The project is based at the Universities of Oxford and Leicester, in partnership with three significant scientific institutions: the Natural History Museum; the Hunterian Museum at the Royal College of Surgeons, and the Royal Society. We look at innovative ways of breaking through the public/professional divide. Drawing on historical research, the project works to develop new tools to enable better systems of exchange between professional science, and this growing army of volunteers.

Location:

United Kingdom

Genres:

Science & Technology News

Description:

The Constructing Scientific Communities Project explores citizen science in the 19th and 21st centuries. It brings together historical and literary research in the nineteenth century with contemporary scientific practice, looking at the ways in which patterns of popular communication and engagement in nineteenth-century science can offer models for current practice. The project is based at the Universities of Oxford and Leicester, in partnership with three significant scientific institutions: the Natural History Museum; the Hunterian Museum at the Royal College of Surgeons, and the Royal Society. We look at innovative ways of breaking through the public/professional divide. Drawing on historical research, the project works to develop new tools to enable better systems of exchange between professional science, and this growing army of volunteers.

Twitter:

@conscicom

Language:

English

Website:

http://conscicom.org/

Episodes

The Conversationalist - 06 - 'The C19th Origins of the Anti-Vaccination Movement'

4/3/2018

You're invited to join our science-themed cocktail party, where experts on the history of science tell us stories, fun facts, and random anecdotes about the development of scientific knowledge from the 19th century to today. In this episode, we talk to Dr Sally Frampton and Dr Oskar Cox Jensen about 19th century anxieties related to vaccination and how they coalesced into a vociferous anti-vax movement. We explore the scientific and cultural dimensions of Victorian anti-vax sentiment,...

Duration:00:49:06

The Conversationalist - 05 - 'The Wisdom of the Crowd' (Marcus du Sautoy)

3/19/2018

You're invited to join our science-themed cocktail party, where experts on the history of science tell us stories, fun facts, and random anecdotes about the development of scientific knowledge from the 19th century to today. In this episode, we talk to Professor Marcus du Sautoy about the wisdom of the crowd. Does crowdsourcing help us make better decisions? Or does it expose us to the perils of groupthink? Are there some questions - scientific, mathematical, or social - that are best...

Duration:00:32:43

The Conversationalist - 04 - 'Domestic Science in the 19th Century'

12/8/2017

You're invited to join our science-themed cocktail party, where experts on the history of science tell us stories, fun facts, and random anecdotes about the development of scientific knowledge from the 19th century to today. In this episode, we talk to Dr Berris Charnley (University of Oxford) and Dr Donald Opitz (DePaul University) about domestic science in the 19th century - scientific endeavours that took place in the home. We also hear from Cory Mason and Tom Nicholson (The Oxford...

Duration:00:38:59

The Conversationalist - 03 - 'Volcanoes and Citizen Science at the Royal Society'

7/20/2017

You're invited to join our science-themed cocktail party, where experts on the history of science tell us stories, fun facts, and random anecdotes about the development of scientific knowledge from the 19th century to today! In this episode, we talk to Royal Society Librarian, Keith Moore, about how the Royal Society crowdsourced information about a 19th century volcanic eruption. Keith takes us on a tour of the Royal Society archive, and at the end of the episode, Chris Thorogood, Head of...

Duration:00:29:25

The Conversationalist - 02 - 'Crowdsourcing Historical Research'

6/5/2017

You're invited to join our science-themed cocktail party, where experts on the history of science tell us stories, fun facts, and random anecdotes about the development of scientific knowledge from the 19th century to today! In this episode, we talk about how historians can use crowdsourcing technology to support their research by looking at the ScienceGossip.org, a research project hosted on the Zooniverse platform that uses citizen science to understand the history of citizen science....

Duration:00:29:16

The Conversationalist - 01 - 'Conversazione'

5/1/2017

You're invited to join our science-themed cocktail party, where experts on the history of science tell us stories, fun facts, and random anecdotes about the development of scientific knowledge from the 19th century to today! In this episode, we learn about the inspiration for this podcast series - 'conversazione' - public events in the Victorian period that brought together scientific professionals and the general public for a bit of food, drink, conversation, and science. Produced by: Dr...

Duration:00:23:41