This award will enable seven STS societies to provide travel grants to graduate students, independent scholars, and junior scholars to attend professional meetings of these societies from 2011-2013. The seven societies are the History of Science Society (HSS), the Society for the History of Technology (SHOT), the Philosophy of Science Association (PSA), the International Society for the History of Philosophy of Science (HOPOS), the American Society for Environmental History (ASEH), the International Society for the Psychology of Science and Technology (ISPST), and the International Society for the History, Philosophy, and Social Studies of Biology (ISHPSSB).
Intellectual Merit
Since the mid 1990s, NSF has provided travel grants to the HSS so that graduate students and independent scholars could attend the conferences of HSS, SHOT, PSA, and the Society for Social Studies of Science (4S). The intellectual merits of these grants can be easily measured by surveying the past conferences of each society and noting the high rate of participation by students, independent scholars, and, in the past 5 years, recent PhDs. As a result, society conferences have been richer and more diverse due to the participation of these scholars. In turn, the research and careers of these scholars (as they have testified) have been boosted by this participation. Such professionalization is crucial on several fronts: younger scholars will be teaching at major research universities, liberal arts colleges, and community colleges; curating museum exhibits; working at research institutes; overseeing library collections; and helping with government programs, whereas grants to independent scholars will allow these scholars to maintain contact with their professional societies, creating intellectual and practical stimulation as they continue to work in museums, research institutes, libraries, and government agencies. Finally, recent PhDs, in the midst of budgets that have cut or eliminated departmental travel funds, will have the opportunity to maintain their career trajectory.
Potential Broader Impacts
The current proposal will also lead to broader impacts for STS disciplines by including related general fields, such as ASEH, that are experiencing rapid growth, and by welcoming specialized subfields, such as ISHPSSB, HOPOS, and ISPST, that are likewise gaining in numbers and influence. The inclusion of the latter groups is particularly important since they represent the rapid growth in societies representing scientific sub fields. The cooperation that the grant will require will insure that we maintain relationships in these divergent fields. NSF travel grants have been a major force in facilitating international exchange, allowing US scholars to travel overseas to share the results of their research. This exchange enhances the intellectual quality of the meetings, while fostering diverse viewpoints and interpretations of science. As the US sees its share of college enrollees in the world dwindle, it is all the more important that these seven societies and their largely US membership share ideas and questions about science and its influence on society.
