ISHPSSB Newsletter

International Society for the History, Philosophy, and Social Studies of Biology


Fall 2009 Thirty-ninth Issue, Volume 21, No. 1



President’s Semi-Annual Report


Ana Barahona, President

President's Corner


Dear Members, we had a wonderful meeting in Brisbane. I would like to especially thank the Local Arrangements Committee, Paul Griffiths (Chair), Warwick Anderson, Rachel Ankeny, Mark Colyvan, and Rodney Taveira, for the nice venue at Emmanuel College and the wonderful organization in general. Also, I want to thank the local sponsors, the Faculty of Arts and the Faculty of Science of the University of Sydney, the Sydney Centre for the Foundations of Science, and Brisbane Marketing. The generous donations, along with the one from the National Science Foundation in support of graduate student travel, allowed us to bring the meeting for the first time to Australia and to the beautiful city of Brisbane. I hope this will not be the last we have a meeting in the Southern Hemisphere.

Although we had a few less people attending this meeting due to the world-wide economic crisis, we had an excellent program. From the 312 abstracts submitted, there were only 3 rejected, so we had 70 sessions in total, including roundtables and symposia. From what I heard during the coffee breaks and in-between sessions, and from the sessions I attended, I can assure you that the quality and diversity of our meeting was fantastic. For this, I want to thank the Program Committee under Marsha Richmond and Manfred Laubichler Co-chairs, Gillian Baker, Mark Borrello, Mathias Brochhausen, Werner Callebaut, Elihu Gerson, John Lynch, Judy Johns Schloegel, and Ana Soto, for putting together all the sessions, symposia, and roundtables. They worked very hard to produce an excellent program.

We had a special session called “Quo Vadis ISH?” organized by Manfred Laubichler, that was open to everyone to discuss how to broaden an integrative focus for the Society and better way(s) to improve this focus in our meeting program. I want to talk a little about the report of that session, so everyone who attended can have a summary and for those who could not attend, to have some idea of the ongoing discussion. The report stated that the “session was organized to address a widely perceived need that the society should make a more concentrated effort to become more integrative in its focus and meeting program. While there are still many good ISH sessions, connecting different perspectives from biology, history, philosophy, and social studies of biology, the program (and the society) show certain worrisome trends of fragmentation (“the philosophy block”), a tendency that certain disciplines are no longer represented the way they should be (history and social studies), and a loss of connection to active research biologists (from across the spectrum of biological disciplines).”  If you take a look at the program, you can see that we had less participation of biologists, social scientists, and a little bit more historians, than philosophers. At the session, many of these thoughts were shared by members, along with other topics that needed to be mentioned, including “the Society’s communication efforts, the development of new members (grad students and especially scholars, from departments with no previous ISH exposure and international scholars), and graduate student concerns.”  There were suggestions on how to attack these kinds of problems.  As an example, individual members were encouraged to invite biologists or social scientists, and to organize biology or social science sessions, or more integrative ones. The “author meets critics sessions” could be an example of how to advance a dialogue focused on influential and/or provocative books in all areas of interest for ISH. Many other concerns were posed at the session, like how to involve more historians and social scientists, how to break into ISH as a newcomer, or how to improve communication and networking tools in preparation of the meetings as well as throughout the two-year cycle.  Another topic that drew my interest was raised at the “Dissemination Roundtable,” chaired by Jane Maienschein; that is, ISH “has a unique opportunity to serve as a portal leading to many ways to connect society members and to foster exciting interdisciplinary communication.”  Although the issue of the society´s increasing reliance and acceptance of digitalization posses some problems and challenges, this is certainly one that needs to be discussed further.

After discussing better ways to proceed, in our second Council Meeting in Brisbane, we decided to send both reports (Quo Vadis ISH, and Dissemination) to all committee chairs for discussions with their entire committees and, hopefully, with the entire membership of ISH.  I proposed that the Program Committee coordinate closely with the “Quo Vadis ISH” discussions, and when they have a preliminary report, we will announce it to all the members. I have decided that the best way to proceed in the case of the digitalization issue, was to place this before the Publications Committee.  I think that after the Committee delivers its first preliminary report, we can open up the discussion to the rest of the members.
So, as you can see, we have a lot of work to do in the near future!

At this point, I would like to acknowledge Jim Griesemer, our out-going President, for all the time and effort he has given us in the past two years. Thanks Jim, it was a pleasure to serve with you these last two years, we learned a lot under your guidance and the Society is better for your efforts!!

To end this President´s corner, I would like to welcome Paul Griffiths, the new President-Elect, the new Council Members, Jessica Bolker, Gregory Radick, and Manfred Laubichler,  Matt Haber and Jim Tabery (the new Local Arrangements Committee Co-chairs), Mark Largent and Chris Young (the new Program Committee Co-chairs), and Rachael Brown, the new student representative. Lisa Gannet and Roberta Millstein deserve a special thanks for agreeing to serve another two year period. All of us, along with Jean Gayon, John Dupré and Betty Smocovitis, will be part of the new Council for the next two years. I can assure you that this Council is going to work as hard as necessary.

I also want to thank the Council Members who left office: Gar Allen, Werner Callebaut, Sandra Mitchell, and Edna Suárez, for serving the society the last four years, student representatives Ellen Clarke and Don Goodman-Wilson, and Marsha Richmond and Manfred Laubichler as Program Co-chairs. Their work as Council Members, with Jim´s guidance, produced excellent results for the Society. Last, but not least, I would like to thank Frédéric Bouchard, the webmaster, and everyone who volunteered to serve in some capacity for ISH: please check your name in the Committee list in the link on our web page. I really appreciate your efforts!


As you will see in the next section, it was approved at the General Members Meeting in Brisbane that our next meeting be hosted by the Department of Philosophy of the University of Utah, July 10-16th, and our hosts will be Matt Haber and Jim Tabery. Good luck!

Utah 2011

 
Utah_autumn_view


Let’s just get this out of the way: yes, you can get a drink in Utah.  There are several local breweries, and even a distillery.  You can order a glass or bottle of wine with dinner, have a cocktail with your appetizers, and top off the meal with a sherry.
 
With that settled, the University of Utah Department of Philosophy is very excited to welcome everyone to Salt Lake City for ISHPSSB 2011.  Located in the Rocky Mountain foothills along the Wasatch Front, we are confident this will be an ISHPSSB meeting to remember.  With our strengths in biology and philosophy of biology, experience in hosting large conferences, centrally accessible location, affordability and easily accessible range of recreational activities, the University of Utah is well suited to hosting ISHPSSB 2011.

In the spirit of a commitment to hosting a genuinely interdisciplinary meeting, we are working hard to build into ISHPSSB 2011 structures that encourage engagement across disciplines.  For example, biology is the common interest of ISHPSSB members, and we believe that sessions including or organized by biologists will facilitate cross-disciplinary attendance and participation.  To that end, we are hard at work preparing to showcase some of the great biology being done at the University of Utah.  We anticipate that you will see many of our local biologists (along with philosophers, social scientists and historians) actively participating in the meeting.

Utah_Heritage_housing

When you arrive in Salt Lake City, you will find your accommodations on upper campus overlooking the Salt Lake Valley, in what used to be Fort Douglas.  These apartment style residence halls and 134-room campus hotel were renovated in 2002 for the Winter Olympics and Paralympics for use as the athlete’s village and officials’ accommodations.  Now part of the University of Utah campus, these are located in the Rocky Mountain foothills and offer easy access to a host of biking and hiking trails.  A campus recreation center located proximally to the residence halls will be happy to rent you any equipment you might need (at very affordable prices) and point you in the right direction, regardless of whether you are looking for an easy light hike, rock climbing, or some back country hike.

The meeting itself will be held a short walk from the campus accommodations, with easy light rail access to and from downtown.  All sessions will be held in a single building, which includes lots of nooks and crannies for people to continue their discussions.  The facilities are very new, and all the rooms are ‘smart’ rooms.  In addition to the regular sessions, there are some lovely historical sites where we will be hosting various receptions and activities to facilitate interdisciplinary mingling.  At the opening reception you can stand at the point where the US Army trained its cannons on downtown Salt Lake City!  With any luck, we’ll even obtain sponsorship from some of our local breweries.  Because, yes, you can get a drink in Utah!

Salt Lake City is not only host to several award winning local breweries, but has recently become home to some very innovative yet affordable restaurants.  Whether you want to eat dinner in the midst of the mountains, or with a great glass of wine, we will be able to help you find your way around town.  And whether you decide to eat all your meals on campus or explore further afield, you should find Salt Lake City prices are extremely competitive to other metropolitan areas.  For those on a tight budget, we anticipate that housing and dining costs may be kept to around $50 day.

We hope you will schedule some extra time on either side of the 2011 meeting to explore Utah’s wilderness.  There are over ten national parks, monuments or wilderness areas within a few hours drive of Salt Lake City, as well as over forty state parks that are often less crowded but just as awe-inspiring.  You can also visit Park City, Robert Redford’s Sundance Resort, Antelope Island in the Great Salt Lake or Robert Smithson’s Spiral Jetty.  While in Salt Lake City, be sure to take advantage of the free events downtown – including an outdoor film festival and concert series.  This past summer this included an Alfred Hitchcock retrospective, and bands such as The Sonic Youth, Black Keys, and Iron & Wine.

We look forward to seeing you in Salt Lake City in 2011.  We are very excited for the opportunity to host the meeting, and are eager to showcase everything from the research being done at the University of Utah to the wonderful geography the State has to explore.  We are hard at work to ensure this will be a memorable meeting, and with that, we extend our warm welcome to ISHPSSB in 2011.

Matt Haber
Jim Taber
University of Utah, Department of Philosophy

Call for Proposals: Off-Year Workshop 2010


The ISHPSSB Off-Year workshops have been a smashing success since the inaugural meeting in San Francisco in 2004. I am writing to encourage all society members to consider submitting a proposal. The Off-Year Workshop Committee will consider proposals for workshops that meet the criteria below. Proposals are due to Mark Borrello by March 5, 2010.

More details regarding proposal guidelines and previous meeting can be found on the Society’s website in the Operations Handbook under Off-Workshop Committee. http://www.ishpssb.org/operations.html


Call to Host 2013 ISHPSSB Meeting


It is the time to start planning for the 2013 ISHPSSB meeting. The first step is to decide on a location. The Site Selection Committee invites members who would be interested in having their institution host the meeting, to present a proposal to by February 15th 2011, or preferably sooner. Proposals should include a general description of the institutional site, availability of housing (dorms, hotels, etc) and meeting rooms (large lecture halls for plenary sessions and enough smaller classrooms for individual sessions), details of the administrative support that will be available to the conference organizers, details of any funding that the organizers will be able to raise to support the meeting, availability of transportation (both internationally and locally), and other features (local activities, scenery etc) that would make the location attractive. Please send suggestions directly to me, Paul Griffiths, via e-mail to paul.griffiths@usyd.edu.au or mail to Department of Philosophy and Sydney Centre for the Foundations of Science, A14, University of Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia.

2009 Marjorie Grene Prize Citation


With Marjorie Grene’s passing on March 16, 2009 at the age of 98, we all lost an important historian and philosopher, and a treasured mentor and friend.  Marjorie Grene was firmly committed to interdisciplinarity and interplay between the history of biology, the philosophy of biology, and biology proper—a commitment that defines the ISHPSSB.  She was also valued for the inspiration and encouragement she provided over the years to both junior and senior members of the Society.  In 1995, the Marjorie Grene Prize was named in her honour to acknowledge the vital role she has played in promoting interdisciplinarity and encouraging the development of new work in history, philosophy, and social studies of biology.
 
This year the Committee received what may be a record number of submissions for the Grene Prize: twenty-nine entries in total.  All were of extremely high quality—indeed, at least twelve of them have already been published, with another six submitted or in press.  The Committee appreciates the opportunity we each had to travel beyond our own specialized fields and learn a great deal about philosophical topics from systems biology to bio statistical theory to the evolution of culture; and historical topics that ranged from recombinant DNA to plant systematics to spontaneous generation.  We firmly believe that the high number, wide range and outstanding quality of the submissions is a testament not only to the role that ISHPSSB plays in stimulating and fostering novel and creative contributions within and across the fields of history, philosophy, and sociology of biology, but more importantly to the talent, enthusiasm, and engagement of its junior members.

Lisa Onaga
 
Lisa Onaga, currently a PhD candidate in the Department of Science and Technology Studies at Cornell University, is the 2009 winner of the Marjorie Grene Prize for the best manuscript based on a presentation at one of the two previous ISHPSSB meetings by someone who was, at the time of presentation, a graduate student.  Her submission, “Toyama Kametaro and Vernon Kellogg: Silkworm Inheritance Experiments in Japan, Siam, and California, 1900-1912” makes an important contribution to our understanding of genetics, industry, and Japanese science in the early 20th century.  Well-written and thoroughly researched, Onaga’s paper focuses on different research practices in the areas of Mendelian genetics, academic and industrial sericulture (silkworm breeding), and American entomology.  It provides a detailed account of the tensions that can arise between academic, commercial, and political motivations in the production of biological knowledge.  In her analysis of the intellectual conflicts between Toyama and Kellogg, Onaga successfully uses the contexts of silkworm research in Japan, Siam and America as a vivid backdrop to highlight the dialogue between different research traditions—namely those working within the frameworks of Mendelism and Darwinism.  The paper is an important and highly original contribution to our understanding of issues at the centre of biological practice in early 20th-century biology.
 
Tara Abraham (Chair), on behalf of the rest of the Committee:
 
Gillian Barker, Mathias Brochhausen, Kevin Elliott, Vivette Garcia, Jean Gayon, Carlos López-Beltrán, Adam Shapiro, V. Betty Smocovitis, Peter Taylor, and Alicia Villela. General Meeting in Brisbane


General Members Meeting Minutes

July 16, 2009


The meeting was called to order at 6:00 P.M.
  1. Quorum was met (>>50 members present; 48 needed)
  2. There was a motion to suspend the rules to allow us to proceed in the order of the agenda: moved and seconded; motion carried.
    Many thanks were offered to the Emmanuel College staff and student assistants.
  3. There was a motion not to hold an annual meeting in 2010: moved and seconded; motion carried.
  4. Reports of officers
  5. Committee reports
  6. Thanks to all of the outgoing officers: outgoing Council members Werner Callebaut, Sandra Mitchell, Edna Suarez, Ellen Clarke, and Dan Wilson-Goodman and outgoing co-chairs Manfred Laubichler and Marsha Richmond.  Thanks also to the Local Arrangements Committee (Paul Griffiths (Chair), Warwick Anderson, Rachel Ankeny, Mark Colyvan, and Robert Taveira) as well as the student assistants.
  7. 2011 Site Selection discussion (Matt Haber and Jim Tabery): University of Utah has secured a hotel and residence halls and a meal plan at affordable rates.  Conference events will be localized with walking opportunities nearby and ample recreational opportunities in the area.  There is public transportation to the downtown.  The campus is designed to be accessible to all.  And you can drink in Utah.  The proposal was endorsed by acclamation.
  8. Do we want to rent out our members list?  Do we want to have advertising on our web pages?  Opt-in, opt-out?  Disinterest was widespread.

Adjournment


Committee Report: Off-Year Workshops 2008

Chris Young, ISHPSSB Off Year Workshop Committee Chair

ISHPSSB members submitted three proposals prior to the summer of 2008 for workshops to be held during the “off year” for ISHPSSB meetings.

Committee Report: Student Travel


73 applications for travel support to the Brisbane 2009 meeting were received by the deadline. Travel grants were offered to 62 students. Due to cancellations and failures to apply for reimbursement by the deadline, travel awards were paid to 49 students. These awards totalled $30,000 (and so averaged just over $600). $23,250 was provided by a US National Science Foundation grant ($25,000 less administrative costs), and the balance was covered by ISHPSSB through travel fund donations and general funds.

I would like to express great appreciation on behalf of ISHPSSB to the History of Science Society for supporting our NSF application through their office: at all stages of this process, we received incredible help from (Robert) Jay Malone, Executive Director, and Virginia Hessels, Office Manager. Thanks to everyone who donated to the student travel fund. Thanks also to members of the 2007-09 Travel Support Committee—Keith Benson, Ellen Clarke, Vivette Garcia, Don Goodman-Wilson, and Katie Zimmerman; Fred Krontz at the NSF who answered our queries; and Rachel Ankeny and Jim Griesemer who, along with Jay Malone, provided feedback on writing the grant proposal.

Treasurer's Report
Lisa Gannett, Treasurer

The Society is in healthy financial shape. Financial statements for 2007 (year-end balance $62,976.80) and 2008 (year-end balance $64,303.96) can be found at http://www.ishpssb.org/operations/treasurer.html. Of special note, proceeds from the Exeter 2007 meeting were $15,648.00: thanks go to the local organization headed by John Dupré and program co-chairs Staffan Müller-Wille and Hans-Jörg Rheinberger. Appreciation also to outgoing Treasurer and Secretary Keith Benson and Chris Young, who donated $2000 for the welcoming reception. $19,370 (from travel fund donations and general funds) was spent on supporting graduate student travel to the Exeter meeting.  

In spring 2009, the Society filed Form 1023 to apply for charitable tax-exempt status from the US Internal Revenue Service (IRS). We are now officially approved as a 501(c)(3) organization with effective date made retroactive to our date of incorporation in December 1989. Specifically, we are classified as a 509(a)(1)/170(b)(1)(A)(vi) public charity, which means our operations are substantially funded by public means (membership fees, government grants, donations).

Contributions to 501(c)(3) organizations (membership fees and donations) are tax-deductible. In the US, donations of $250 or more need to be substantiated with a written communication from the charity (e.g. receipt or letter); for contributions less than $250, a bank record (e.g. cancelled check) is also acceptable.

To maintain our tax-exempt status as a 501(c)(3) organization, we must meet a number of requirements. Our activities are limited to our tax-exempt (educational and scientific) purposes. Participation of 501(c)(3)s in political campaigns is prohibited, though strictly non-partisan voter education is permitted; legislative lobbying by a 501(c)(3) cannot constitute more than an insubstantial portion of its activities, though education on matters of public policy is permitted. By May 15th each year, we must file an information return with the IRS: a Form 990 in years in which our gross receipts average over $25,000 (calculated based on that year and the previous two) and a Form 990-N (e-postcard) in years in which our gross receipts are less. Late returns can incur financial penalties; an organization that fails to file returns for three consecutive years loses its tax-exempt status. After receiving IRS approval of our 501(c)(3) status in the summer, a Form 990 for 2007 and an e-postcard for 2008 were filed.

I would like to thank all those who helped me with this onerous chore: Blacksburg lawyer Stephen Wagner who was kind enough to provide (free) advice over the phone, Jim Griesemer who gave the 1023 application a thorough read, Keith Benson whose past record-keeping proved of great assistance, and several past presidents and council members (Mike Dietrich, Jane Maienschein, Peggy Stewart, and others) from whom an institutional memory could be assembled.


ISHPSSB Financial Statement January 1, 2007‐December 31, 2007

ISHPSSB Financial Statement January 1, 2008‐December 31, 2008

ISHPSSB Financial Statement January 1, 2009‐June 30, 2009

Membership Renewal

Roberta Millstein, Secretary


ISHPSSB members typically renew their memberships when they register for the biennial meeting. Those who do not attend a meeting sometimes fail to renew.  At the current time, approximately 1/3 of our members are late paying dues.  Our switch to online membership renewal has streamlined the process and cleaned up our membership data, but one restriction of the online software is that renewal must be every year instead of every other year.  That restriction may be lifted soon, but in the meantime it is even more important that you continue to pay your dues even in the off-year; remember that the Society relies on your membership dues.  Renewal reminders will be sent via email, and you can renew your discounted journal subscriptions  at the same time you renew your membership.  For most existing members, renewal dates will be February 1 (2010 or 2011), but for newer members, it will be the day of the year that they first became members.  Online renewal is available at: http://ishpssb.onefireplace.com/. If you have questions about your membership, contact Secretary Roberta Millstein at: secretary@ishpssb.org.

Special Offers from Publishers


Annals of Science
$99 or £60/year; subscribe online via the ‘news and offers’ link on the journal’s website www.informaworld.com/tasc or write directly to the publisher (contact Lisa or Roberta for address).

Biological Theory
Subscribe online via journal’s website http://www.mitpressjournals.org/loi/biot (contact Lisa or Roberta for code which you need to enter to receive the society discount of 20%).
 
Biology and Philosophy
$62/year; together with Journal of the History of Biology: $99/year; order when you renew your membership or at other times via PayPal on the society’s website (membership page).

History and Philosophy of the Life Sciences
$50 or €40/year; order when you renew your membership or at other times via PayPal on the society’s website (membership page).

Journal of the History of Biology
$56/year; together with Biology and Philosophy: $99/year; order when you renew your membership or at other times via PayPal on the society’s website (membership page).

Studies in History and Philosophy of Biological and Biomedical Sciences
$45 or €39/year; to purchase a discounted subscription, contact your Elsevier regional sales office http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/contact.cws_home/regional.


Note that all PayPal subscriptions to journals through the Society will soon migrate to the Wild Apricot registration service at http://ishpssb.onefireplace.com/

Contact


Ana Barahona, President
National Autonomous University of Mexico, UNAM
ana.barahona@ciencias.unam.mx

Paul Griffiths, President-Elect
University of Sydney
paul.griffiths@usyd.edu.au

Lisa Gannett, Treasurer
St. Mary’s University
lisa.gannett@smu.ca

Roberta Millstein, Secretary
University of California, Davis
secretary@ishpssb.org
rlmillstein@UCDavis.edu

Mark Largent, Program Co-Chair (2009-2011)
Michigan State University
largent@msu.edu

Young, Chris Program Co-Chair (2009-2011)
Alverno College, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Chris.Young@alverno.edu


Pamela Henson, Archivist
Institutional History Division
Smithsonian Institution Archives
Washington, DC 20560-0414
(202) 786-2735
hensonp@osia.si.edu

Frédéric Bouchard, Webmaster
University of Montreal
f.bouchard@umontreal.ca

For additional Council contact information, visit our website at http://www.ishpssb.org or contact Roberta Millstein.

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