Material Culture in the History of Physics, VIII. International Seminar funded by the Wilhelm and Else Heraeus Foundation
The seminar consists of a self-organized theoretical part and an attendance part, which will take place from February 23 to 27, 2026 at the Deutsches Museum in Munich. The seminar is aimed at M.A. and Ph.D. students in the history of science and physics as well as physics education. We would also like to encourage trainees in science and technology museums including respective university collections to apply. The deadline is 15 November 2025.
Why do we study “material culture”? Objects are rich sources of information about the production of scientific knowledge. While historians usually work in archives with historical documents trying to reconstruct theories and the social and cultural context of physics, not everything about the history of physics is recorded in textual form. We can gain new insights into the history of physics by analysing scientific instruments and foregrounding material aspects of science in historical narratives. This seminar introduces standard approaches to the analysis of objects and offers participants the opportunity to get hands-on experience with these techniques using collections at the Deutsches Museum.
Structure and Content of the Seminar: The seminar consists of three parts: a theoretical part, a practical part, and individual follow-up work.
