2000 HSS/PSA Program 1 - History of Science Society

HSS Abstracts
to convey information obtained from colonial (usually Australian) observers,
and to transform these observations at the periphery into scientific knowledge.
In my paper, I analyze the use of letters in the domain of natural history in
and around the Royal Society, from Sloane at the beginning of the 18th
century to Owen at the end of the 19th. The perspective and methodology
applied are those of linguistic and rhetorical discourse analysis, focusing on
the ways in which the letters construct a center and a periphery in the natural
history of their time.
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Frans␣ H. van␣ Lunteren Institute for History and Foundations of Science,
Utrecht University
Paul Ehrenfest and Dutch Physics in the Interbellum Period
Following his call to Leiden as Lorentz’ successor, Ehrenfest radically
transformed the local culture of physics and especially theoretical physics.
His educational reforms payed of handsomely as evidenced by the remarkable
careers of his students. Apart from his success as a teacher I will evaluate the
rationale and the effects of three main concerns of Ehrenfest: the reorientation
of Dutch research towards the new physics (relativity and above all quantum
physics), the promotion of contacts between young Dutch physicists and their
foreign peers (especially those from Russia and the United States), and the
establishment of stronger ties between Dutch academic and industrial science
(focussing on the Philips physical laboratory).
Lea Velho State University of Campinas
The Role of External Funding in Social Sciences Research in Uruguay
during the Military Regime (1973-1985)
The 1973 break with democracy and the 1974 intervention of Uruguay’s only
university, led to the restructuring of Uruguayan scientific practice. Concerning
the social sciences, certain private research centers arose partly thanks to the
financial assistance that they received from various international and
philanthropic foundations. These private centers continued with investigative
work and the formation of human resources during the military dictatorship
(1973-1985). Our study draws from interviews with key informants and from
primary documents found in the archives of the Uruguayan state (CIEDUR,
CIESU, CINVE y CLAEH) and foundation repositories (the Ford Foundation
International Development Research Centre, IDRC, Canada and the Swedish
Agency for Research Co-operation with Developing Countries, SARECO). We
propose to analyze the role of external financing on the establishment of research
plans and in the selection of subjects in Uruguayan Economy and Sociology.
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