The slow death and strange rebirths of imperial history

The Oxford History of the British Empire, Volume V, Historiography edited by Robin W. Winks. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1999. Pp.xxxiv + 731. £35.00 (hardback). ISBN 0–19–820566‐X.     

The strange case of the Freudian case history: the role of long case histories in the development of psychoanalysis

Sigmund Freud's five long case histories have been the focus of seemingly endless fascination and criticism. This article examines how the long case-history genre developed and its impact on the professionalization of psychoanalysis. It argues that the long case histories, using a distinctive form that highlighted the peculiarities of psychoanalytic theory, served as exemplars in the discipline. In doing so, the article extends John Forrester's work on "thinking in cases" to show the practical implications of that style of reasoning. The article illustrates how the form disappeared once the theoretical basis of the movement was set. The genre never became institutionalized, although the content of the five long case histories did, because of Freud's accepted role as theoretician of psychoanalysis.     

The science and scientific legacy of Operation Chastise

Abstract

Operation Chastise, more often known as the 'Dambusters raids', was one of the most audacious aerial military operations of the Second World War, in that it made use of operationally untested technical innovations under extreme logistical constraints. Of particular interest is the scientific environment in which the mission was implemented. Here I review the principal scientific innovations that were necessary for the realisation of the mission. These went beyond the rotating depth charge itself. Simple but nevertheless ingenious methods for altitude and range finding were devised for low altitude flying, and the new system of two stage blue day–night flying was implemented for simulated night flying. Even drugs to combat airsickness during low altitude flight in turbulence were tested. The diverse technical expertise that was necessary for the original idea to be transformed into a logistical reality in less than three months provides a particularly lucid instance of effective scientific management in a framework of rapid technological change. I also describe an expedition inspired by these developments, which fifty years on used a dedicated low altitude night flying microlight aircraft (the Barnes Wallis Moth Machine) to catch insects over a rainforest canopy, illustrating the legacies that such missions can leave.     

The history and philosophy of social science

Carlo Ginzburg is best known as the author of a popular and widely commented work of microstoria Il formaggio e i vermi, published in 1976. Rather than focusing on Ginzburg's contributions to the genre of microstoria, or on the development of his long and very productive scholarly career, my aim in this article is to reflect on a set of themes that recur, with impressive persistence, in his work, from his earliest publications in the mid-1960s, to his most recent works. Above all, I suggest that two elements recur in his work, and that these, jointly, impart upon it its defining character. They are the concern with epistemological issues of knowing, and the ethical conception of the historian's work, which Ginzburg expressess and defends with urelenting rigour.     

The origin of the four stages theory: A contribution to the history of social evolutionary thought

Ronald L. Meek. Social Science and the Ignoble Savage. New York and London: Cambridge University Press, 1976. v + 249 pp. Index. $17.50.     

Art and science in the UK: a brief history and critical reflection

ABSTRACT

This paper begins by reviewing the historical construction of ‘SciArt’, and the way in which its supposed interdisciplinarity often shaded into science communication. Early discussions about the complementarity of art and science were conceived in terms of epistemology, notably the qualities of imagination and curiosity. The paper moves on to discuss how, during the current decade, Art and Science (A&S) discourse has altered due to changes in the cultural politics of both its constituent fields, emerging as a ‘transdiscipline’ characterized by ‘creativity’. Eighteen in-depth surveys with leading practitioners in A&S form a substantial part of the research material, yielding an evaluation of what the disciplinary, economic and cultural implications of this changed discourse may be. Though potentially angled towards the solution of ‘wicked’ problems, transdisciplinarity also sacrifices the specific critical expertise of art, fetishizes tech at the expense of science and selectively ignores institutional problems inherent in funding and power structures.     

Early evolutionary history of Monalaria (Mollusca: Gastropoda: Struthiolariidae) from the Palaeogene of New Zealand

Huang, D.-Y. &; Nel, A., December, 2008. New ‘Grylloblattida’ related to the genus Prosepididontus Handlirsch, 1920 Handlirsch, A. 1920. “Kapitel 7. Palaeontologie. C.”. In Schröder Handbuch der Entomologie, III, 117–304. G. Fischer, Jena.  [Google Scholar] in the Middle Jurassic of China (Insecta: Geinitziidae). Alcheringa 32, 395–403. ISSN 0311-5518.

On the basis of well-preserved nearly complete specimens, two new genera and species Sinosepididontus chifengensis and Megasepididontus grandis, both closely related to the Early Jurassic geinitziid genus Prosepididontus, are described. The new material was collected from the Middle Jurassic Jiulongshan Formation near the Daohugou Village, Ningcheng County, Inner Mongolia, northeast China. New body and leg structures are described for these Chinese taxa. They were previously unknown in other Geinitziidae. The new data indicate that the extinct ‘Grylloblattida’ contained heterogenous groups.     

A peculiar condition: A history of the Jumping Frenchmen Syndrome in scientific and popular accounts

ABSTRACT

In 1878, Dr. George Beard reported to other neurologists that in Maine there existed French-Canadian woodsmen who jumped when excited. Beard observed the phenomenon firsthand and his subsequent reports attracted the attention of Georges Gilles de la Tourette in France and other neurologists worldwide for a couple of decades. During the second half of the twentieth century, interest in the jumpers revived among neurologists, as some came forward with similar observations in different parts of Canada and the United States. This article compares and contrasts the scientific reports of the jumping syndrome with those of the popular press and highlights what they revealed about the perceived status of French-Canadian descendants.     

Citizens and scientists: toward a gendered history of scientific practice in post-revolutionary France

Because the French Revolution failed to produce a widely acceptable definition of citizenship, the limits of manhood suffrage in the early nineteenth century were uncertain. Social practices, in particular scientific activity, served as claims to the status of citizen. By engaging in scientific pastimes, bourgeois Frenchmen asserted that they possessed the rationality and autonomy that liberal theorists associated both with manliness and with civic capacity. However, bourgeois science was never a stable signifier of masculinity or of competence. As professional science emerged, the bourgeois amateur increasingly became the feminised object of satire rather than the sober and meritorious citizen-scientist.