Title: Why Study the History of Chemistry? What an education in chemistry has been, is, and could be.
Abstract: Nineteenth-century chemists used history to establish chemistry’s place in the university. Their twentieth-century successors saw it as a way of validating chemistry’s theoretical sophistication. But history looks different now, and chemistry is facing new challenges. This talk outlines an approach that uses history to engage chemistry students with broader perspectives on the science they’re learning and what it means to be a chemist. Built on original research that melds historical analysis of chemistry with ethnographic appreciation of the range of people and resources that make the science possible, the goal is to move interactions between history and chemistry beyond idealized narratives and outsider critiques that are unhelpful to both parties.
Key Words: biochemistry, pharmacy, physics, history, education
Biography: https://www.history.ox.ac.uk/people/dr-catherine-m-jackson