What Might the ScienceHumanities Look Like?

More on the intersections of the sciences and humanities. #STEAM

Cardiff ScienceHumanities

Martin Willis
Professor of English
Cardiff University
ScienceHumanities Initiative Principal Investigator
Chair of the British Society for Literature and Science
Editor of the Journal of Literature and Science

In various disciplines we have come close to using the term ScienceHumanities in recent years.

There is, firstly, the long-standing Medical Humanities, which would reasonably claim to be an interdiscipline of its own. However, the medical humanities have been notoriously difficult to define, and have very bifurcated groups. Secondly, in eco-critical studies the phrase environmental humanities is, if not commonplace, then recognisably in use. In that arena it is a useful shorthand for the variety of disciplines that might combine and interact to focus attention on environmental challenges.

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Prospero’s “So Potent Art”: A Case for John Dee

“Although Shakespeare was probably familiar with various famous magi, Dr. John Dee provides the most direct parallels to Prospero, and many scholars believe he was a model for the character to some degree. “

History (of Science) Books by Women

The Renaissance Mathematicus

Last weekend saw several major newspapers publishing their books of the year list. Unfortunately these displayed, in several aspects, a serious lack of balance. Science and history of science books came up more than somewhat short and in some categories the male dominance was glaring. The latter problem provoked the following tweet by historian and history book author Lucy Worsley:

8 of 9 of the ‘history books of the year’ in today’s Times, and 19 out of 21 of ditto in today’s Telegraph, are by men. I’m not impressed. Lucy Worsley

In reaction to this tweet a hash tag sprang into life, #HistoryBooksbyWomen, under which some just listed the names of female history book authors and others tweeted names and book titles. My discipline the history of science is blessed with many excellent female historians, authors of many first class books. This being the case I thought that I…

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New guidelines aim to improve understanding of scientific data

Further work in research on ontological visualization, via Phys.org:

“Scientific information is one factor that can influence decision-making to achieve change, and visualisation of data through graphics – such as graphs, diagrams and thematic maps – plays an important role in the communication of climate change findings to both expert and non-specialist audiences.”

Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2016-11-guidelines-aim-scientific.html#jCp

 

Nature: On the importance of data visualization

Further manifestations of the functional unities between art and science.

“Inventive graphic design and abstract models are helping researchers to make sense of a glut of data.”

http://www.nature.com/news/the-visualizations-transforming-biology-1.20201

Nature photos, 2015-2016 (i)

Cosmos Magazine: The art and beauty of mathematics

Archiving for intersectional studies in art, math, data visualization.

“Belinda Smith chats to mathematics student and artist Hamid Naderi Yeganeh.”

Read on Cosmos Magazine

12,000 Circles CREDIT: HAMID NADERI YEGANEH

 

Berkeley Lab: Revealing the Fluctuations of Flexible DNA in 3-D

“First-of-their-kind images by Berkeley Lab-led research team could aid in use of DNA to build nanoscale devices.” http://newscenter.lbl.gov/2016/03/30/revealing-the-fluctuations-of-flexible-dna-in-3-d/

Bookmarked for consideration of STEM pedagogical modeling and narratives-research in data visualization.

Art and sculptures from Hadrian’s Villa: Marble statue of a dancing female figure

FOLLOWING HADRIAN

This month’s sculpture from Hadrian’s Villa is a marble statue of a dancing female figure, thought to be a portrait of Praxilla of Sikyon.

Dancing female figure, thought to be a portrait of Praxilla of Sikyon
Palazzo Massimo alle Terme, Rome

Praxilla was a female poet writing in the mid-fifth century BC. She came from Sikyon, a city situated on a fertile coastal plain beside the Corinthian Gulf in the northeast Peloponnese (see images of the archaeological site here). She wrote, dithyrambs, hymns to the Greek gods as well as drinking songs (skolia). Her skolia were among the most celebrated of her time and were sung at banquets and festivals for over three hundred years.

Dancing female figure, thought to be a portrait of Praxilla of Sikyon
Palazzo Massimo alle Terme, Rome

The statue, made of white Pentelic marble, depicts the Greek lyric poetess in…

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A Social Justice Project: The Reclamation of the Yogini

An important piece for the deconstruction of misappropriation and how to transform it into appropriate adaption.

body divine yoga

Tamil-Nadu Yogini

“The identification of the human woman with the Universal Goddess is most explicit in tantric theology- yet the very existence of female masters, lineage holders and tantric adepts, although referred to repeatedly by tantric texts, is still doubted by some…Here there is no quarter given to feminist spiritual yearnings, or for women mystics to seek to follow the liberating footsteps of the ancient yogini who dared to think themselves divine.”  Rita DasGupta Sherma

Women’s history month is here so it’s a good time to remember the spiritual foremothers of yoga – the Tantric yoginis.  After all we rarely give them much thought. Their erasure from history is an injustice that lies silent at the very heart of contemporary yoga – and one with far reaching implications today. Because without questioning a history of yoga written by men, solely for men, can yoga ever be an…

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