3 October - Fa-ti Fan, Critical Reflections on the Global History of Science

Members of this list may be interested in the following event on Critical Reflections on the Global History of Science, organised by the Pacific Circle.

PACIFIC CIRCLE ONLINE LECTURE
Science, Region, and the Pacific: Critical Reflections on the Global History of Science
Fa-ti Fan (Binghamton University)

Online seminar (Zoom): https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZIsduyppjwoEtcaBJTQVz7ybMb1n0Nf4VS7#/registration
Tuesday, 3 October 2023 – 11am London time

Abstract: I grew up on an island on the “western” edge of the Pacific Ocean. The “western” here can be confusing, in part because the Earth is round and in part because this “western” edge is also called East Asia or, in the old days, the Far East. Moreover, the area has been called part of the Pacific Rim – not only in movies about giant robots fighting kaiju. If the geographical rim is emphasized, what about the vast spaces in between?
This talk explores the methodological relationships between science and region in the global history of science. Drawing on the excellent work of many scholars of the Pacific Circle, I will use “the Pacific” as the focus of my analysis. The term embodies multiple meanings and notions that are deeply intertwined with science and geopolitics. This example illustrates the potentials and limitations of such concepts or categories as local, regional, and global in the history of science.

Fa-ti Fan is Professor of History at Binghamton University, State University of New York. He has published widely on science in East Asia and the global history of science. He is currently the President of the History of Science Society.