Australasian Association for History, Philosophy & Social Studies of Science Conference, Sydney, 2002

Abstract

The Unit for the History and Philosophy of Science (HPS) at the University of Sydney hosted the annual talk-fest of Australian social scientists, historians and philosophers of science (including medicine) from 4-6 July 2002. Nearly 100 participants attended the Australasian Association for History, Philosophy and Social Studies of Science (A2HPS3) conference from across Australia and New Zealand, and also from the US, Sweden, and the UK. Historical and philosophical aspects of medicine and interrelated disciplines were well represented with presentations on subjects such as the medicalisation of deviant childhood behaviour, contradictions in enthusiasm for technologies like prenatal diagnosis and stem cell studies, and the professionalisation of bacteriologists and psychiatrists in twentieth-century Australia. In addition to paper presentations, special sessions included 'Author Meets Critics' panels to encourage discussion of recently published books by Australasian scholars, and a workshop entitled 'Finishing your Thesis without Killing your Partner or your Intellectual Enthusiasm'. The Dyason Lecture was given by Robert Olby (Ilkly, UK, and research professor at the University of Pittsburgh), whose visit to Australia was sponsored by the British Council. Reflecting on the fifty years since the publication of Watson and Crick's paper describing the structure of DNA as a double helix, Olby explored the factors that helped to convert a scientific event into a widely celebrated milestone. The author of numerous works in the history of genetics, he questioned whether some aspects of the work on DNA warranted celebration, and the extent to which the fiftieth anniversary festivities were becoming a political event, showcasing 'successful' British science. An Octavian Discussion entitled 'HPS/STS in Australasia: Has Its Present Past a Future?' was particularly lively. In an Octavian discus-