American Philosophical Society

12/19/2022

Visit the Museum | American Philosophical Society

Become Weatherwise! The last day to visit the current exhibition, Becoming Weatherwise: A History of Climate Science in America, is December 30th. This exhibit explores the questions and methods that have driven the study of weather and climate in the Western world from the mid-eighteenth century through today. Click the link below to learn more about our current policies and hours!
https://www.amphilsoc.org/visit-museum

Holiday Hours: Due to unforeseen circumstances our holiday hours have been decreased. The Museum will now only be open Sunday, December 18 (10 a.m.-5 p.m.) and Friday, December 30 (10 a.m.-5 p.m.). Visit this page in the future for more information about our next exhibition, opening March 31, 2023.

12/16/2022

Nathaniel Holmes, A short treatise on gravitation and electricity… (1894-1898): $2,500 | American Philosophical Society

Just recently the Society received a manuscript volume by a 19th-century amateur scientist. Born in New Hampshire in 1815 and a graduate of Harvard Law, Nathaniel Holmes practiced law in St. Louis before returning to become a professor at Harvard. When he was nearly 80 years old, he wrote this extensive treatise on gravitation and electricity that is remarkable for its length, detail, and evidence of intellectual curiosity. Learn more about the Library & Museum's new acquisitions by checking out its Adopt-A-Book Program!
https://www.amphilsoc.org/item-detail/nathaniel-holmes-short-treatise-gravitation-and-electricity-1894-1898-2500

Born in New Hampshire in 1815 and a graduate of Harvard Law, Holmes practiced law in St. Louis before returning to become a professor at Harvard. Despite this success, the legal field, it seems never caught his attention. Holmes did no legal writing, but was widely interested in other subjects, espe...

12/15/2022

Indigenous Studies Seminar: “Advocating for Allotment: Civil Rights and Sovereign Ends” with David Dry | American Philosophical Society

The second 2022-2023 Indigenous Studies Seminar will take place December 16, 2022 at 3:00 p.m. ET on Zoom. Speaker David Dry will be presenting his paper titled “Advocating for Allotment: Civil Rights and Sovereign Ends.” Use this link: https://www.amphilsoc.org/events/indigenous-studies-seminar-advocating-allotment-civil-rights-and-sovereign-ends-david-dry to learn more!

The second 2022-2023 Indigenous Studies Seminar will take place December 16, 2022 at 3:00 p.m. ET on Zoom.

12/14/2022

CFP: "Women in Science: Achievements and Barriers," June 8-9, 2023 | American Philosophical Society

Calling all those interested in the topic of women in science! Inspired by the 2023 exhibition on that topic, the Library & Museum is organizing two international conferences to explore the history of women in science, the present state of science and society, and the opportunities to create a more inclusive and diverse practice of science. Check out and share the call for papers for the June conference focused on "Achievements and Barriers." https://www.amphilsoc.org/blog/cfp-women-science-achievements-and-barriers-june-8-9-2023

Inspired by its 2023 exhibition Women in Science, the American Philosophical Society is organizing two international conferences that will explore the history of women in science, the present state of science and society, and the opportunities to create a more inclusive and diverse practice of scien...

12/14/2022

2022 Fall Meetings Prizes and Awards

Recordings from the Fall 2022 Members Meeting are now available on Youtube! Meetings of the American Philosophical Society are held biannually in Philadelphia and offer an engaging selection of talks in the sciences, social sciences, and humanities.
https://bit.ly/3UNGHcI

Presentation of Society Prizes and Awards at the APS Fall 2022 General Meeting. The APS hosts nearly 350 of its Members, their families, and distinguished gu...

12/13/2022

Due to unforeseen circumstances the Museum will now only be open Sunday, December 18th (10 a.m.-5 p.m.) and Friday, December 30th (10 a.m.-5 p.m.). Visit the APS website in the future for more information about our next exhibition opening March 31, 2023!

12/13/2022

The Balipara Foundation has recently honored APS Member Dr. Kamal Bawa with the Global Lifetime Service Award. The award recognizes Dr Bawa’s work in setting up Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment (ATREE) Eastern Himalaya Programme and his contribution to conserving the critical and biodiversity-rich landscape. Click the link to read more about Dr. Bawa's work! https://bit.ly/3j3VBOA

12/12/2022

Susan O. Montgomery Lecture: Performance and Conversation with Curtis Faculty

On December 12th, two members of the leadership team at the Curtis Institute of Music will join each other in conversation at the Susan O. Montgomery Lecture Series. Nick DiBerardino (composition, ’18), Senior Associate Dean of Performance Studies and Chair of Composition Studies, and Amy Yang (piano, ’06), Associate Dean of Piano Studies and Artistic Initiatives will discuss their multifaceted roles as creators, interpreters, educators, and leaders, with a special focus on the ways their artistry has driven their unique careers.

This program will interweave musical performance and conversation. Mr. DiBerardino, who brings to Curtis a distinguished musical and scholarly pedigree, will speak about how his formative experience attending Curtis led to subsequent positions in which his transformative vision has shaped the school. He will also present and discuss the creative process behind an original composition. Ms. Yang will perform a solo piano work she commissioned from current Curtis composition student Alistair Coleman, who she first encountered in her previous role as program director of Curtis Summerfest’s Young Artist Summer Program. Ms. Yang will speak about interpretation, her collaborative process with composers, and the evolutionary stages of Mr. Coleman's piece.

Together, Ms. Yang and Mr. DiBerardino hope to weave a picture of the fertile artistry at the core of the Curtis educational experience and the musical values they work to uphold for future generations.

12/08/2022

Community Science Weather Data Project | American Philosophical Society

In coordination with this year's exhibition Becoming Weatherwise: A History of Climate Science in America, APS educators worked with two schools on a year-long project to collect weather data in Fall 2021 and Spring 2022. This week's blog post from Education Coordinator Alexandra Rospond reports on some of the project's outcomes.
https://www.amphilsoc.org/blog/community-science-weather-data-project

Weather affects our everyday lives. That sentiment may sound familiar for two reasons: 1.) It’s true and 2.) These were the starting words of my blog in October 2021 on the pilot phase of the APS Community Science Weather Data Project (CSWDP). The American Philosophical Society partnered with Bodi...

12/07/2022

When you've run out of topics of conversation, there's always the weather. In this November 1776 letter, Dr. Samuel Adams (not the Boston statesman) wrote to his wife from Vermont, "I seem to have exhausted all subject matter for letters," but remarks on the "very warm" weather. Without standard measurements, warm in 1776 Vermont was very likely not the same as 2022 Philadelphia. Learn more about the history of weather and visit our exhibition , closing this month!

12/02/2022

Claudia Goldin on the Gender Pay Gap - Social Science Space

APS Member Claudia Goldin recently joined the Social Science Bites podcast for a discussion of the gender pay gap and her book Career & Family: Women’s Century-Long Journey toward Equity. https://www.socialsciencespace.com/2022/12/claudia-goldin-on-the-gender-pay-gap/

Harvard University economic historian Claudia Goldin studies the origins, causes and persistence of te gender pay gap in the United States, which she discusses in this Social Science Bites podcast.

12/01/2022

"Somerset v Steuart" Conference | The McNeil Center for Early American Studies

If you enjoyed yesterday's plenary discussion of the meanings of the 1772 Somerset v. Steuart case, today and tomorrow offer two more days of panels held at McNeil Center for Early American Studies and virtually. Find the program here: https://www.mceas.org/somerset-v-steuart-conference

"Somerset v Steuart @ 250: Facts, Interpretations, and Legacies" Conference1-2 December 2022 In recent years, the Somerset v. Steuart trial of 1772 has emerged as an event of much discussion in the history of transatlantic antislavery. Scholars have debated the decision’s importance and centrality...

11/30/2022

The APS Library's history of science collections contain many materials related to the history of the computer, including documents related to John Von Neumann's (APS 1938) first stored computer program. Here is an excerpt from a ca. 1945 document outlining that program.

11/30/2022

David Center for the American Revolution Seminar: “Fashioning an Ornament to the Colony: Imperial Belonging and Crisis in the Governor’s Palace at New Bern" with Christian J. Koot | American Philosophical Society

The next David Center for the American Revolution Seminar, held virtually on Dec 7, features Christian Koot. He will present his paper, “Fashioning an Ornament to the Colony: Imperial Belonging and Crisis in the Governor’s Palace at New Bern.” https://www.amphilsoc.org/events/dcar-koot

The second meeting of the 2022-2023 David Center for the American Revolution Seminar Series will take place December 7, 2022 at 3:00 p.m. ET on Zoom.

11/29/2022

Harvard names three new University Professors

APS Members Catherine Dulac and Robert J. Sampson have been named University Professors at Harvard University, the university's highest faculty distinction. https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2022/11/harvard-names-three-new-university-professors/

Catherine Dulac, Robert J. Sampson, and Arlene Sharpe have been named Harvard University Professors, Harvard’s highest distinction for a faculty member.

11/28/2022

Revolutionary PHL: Things Still Happen… Even During War | American Philosophical Society

Amid the dislocations of war and disease, revolutionary Philadelphians had babies, made scientific discoveries, and engaged in everyday transactions. In this week's blog post from Bethany Farrell (NEH Digitization Technician for The Revolutionary City), she details the human moments in correspondence that spoke to her while digitizing and creating metadata. https://www.amphilsoc.org/blog/revolutionary-phl-things-still-happen-even-during-war

Header image: A medallion with a profile portrait of Benjamin Franklin made in 1777 while he was a diplomat in France. APS.]

11/23/2022

The world's top soccer stars are lacing up their cleats for the beginning of the this week. They are part of a long tradition of international sports competition, both professional and amateur. These photos from Henry Houston II depict the WWI French ambulance corps in a friendly match with Houston's fellow American volunteers.

11/22/2022

Somerset v. Steuart @ 250: A Virtual Roundtable Discussion | American Philosophical Society

On November 30, four leading scholars who have written about varied aspects of slavery, antislavery, and the American Revolution will hold a virtual roundtable discussion of the landmark Somerset v. Steuart trial of 1772.

The case has emerged as an event of much discussion in the history of transatlantic antislavery. Scholars have debated the decision’s importance and centrality to the emancipatory impulses in the British Atlantic, and, more recently, weighed its possible role in the coming of the American Revolution. Some have argued that Lord Mansfield’s decision in James Somerset’s favor was a central, even epochal event, while others maintain that North Americans scarcely noticed the decision.

https://www.amphilsoc.org/events/somerset-v-steuart-250-virtual-roundtable-discussion

The Somerset v. Steuart trial of 1772 has emerged as an event of much discussion in the history of transatlantic antislavery. Scholars have debated the decision’s importance and centrality to the emancipatory impulses in the British Atlantic, and, more recently, weighed its possible role in the co...

11/21/2022

Doing any holiday shopping for unique titles in American History, the History of Science, Anthropology, or Art History? Our distributor, Diane Publishing, is running a sale on select APS books for a special price of $15 with free U.S. domestic shipping: http://www.dianepublishing.net/category_s/508.htm

11/18/2022

This afternoon's session is a symposium on incarceration led by Judith Resnik of Yale Law School https://boxcast.tv/channel/ufhnq8iwqjtkontsuhsr

11/18/2022

Friday sessions for the General Meeting of the APS are beginning now. Tune in for this morning's talks from Ellen Cohn on Benjamin Franklin and international humanitarian law, Marion Alexander on David Rittenhouse, Olivier Zunz on Tocqueville, and Richard Kagan on Philadelphia and Spanish America. https://boxcast.tv/channel/ufhnq8iwqjtkontsuhsr

11/17/2022

The ancient history of the Siouan-Catawban language family: Synthesizing archival and computational approaches | American Philosophical Society

Edwin Ko recently visited the APS as 2022-2023 Daythal L. Kendall Short-Term Fellow. In this week's blog post he discusses his work on the linguistic history of the Siouan-Catawban language family. https://www.amphilsoc.org/blog/ancient-history-siouan-catawban-language-family-synthesizing-archival-and-computational

An outdated Siouan language family tree (APS Mary R. Haas Papers, Series 2, Box 23). My dissertation investigates the linguistic history of the Siouan-Catawban language family, consisting of around 18 language varieties spoken across North America, from around the Appalachians in the east to as far....

11/17/2022

After two years of remote meetings, the APS General Meeting is back in Benjamin Franklin Hall! Tune in beginning at 1:30 p.m. ET for talks from Roger Cohen, Sara Seager, new Member induction, and the award and prize ceremony. https://boxcast.tv/channel/ufhnq8iwqjtkontsuhsr

11/16/2022

Innovation by Evolution: Bringing New Chemistry to Life

Tomorrow, November 17, APS Member Frances Arnold will deliver the 2022 Ullyot Public Affairs Lecture at the Science History Institute titled "Innovation by Evolution: Bringing New Chemistry to Life" https://www.sciencehistory.org/event/frances-arnold-innovation-by-evolution-bringing-new-chemistry-to-life

Nobel laureate and Caltech professor Frances Arnold will deliver the 2022 Ullyot Public Affairs Lecture.

11/15/2022

217 | Margaret Levi on Moral Political Economy – Sean Carroll

APS Member Margaret Levi appeared on the latest episode of the Mindscape podcast. She and host Sean Carroll discuss the nature of trust in government and other issues in moral political economy. Listen here: https://www.preposterousuniverse.com/podcast/2022/11/14/217-margaret-levi-on-moral-political-economy/

217 | Margaret Levi on Moral Political Economy November 14, 2022 November 14, 2022 / Politics / 1 Comment Why do people voluntarily hand over authority to a government? Under what conditions should they do so? These questions are both timeless and extremely timely, as modern democratic governments s...

11/14/2022

Enjoy these beautiful images of Sugpiaq weaving from our colleagues at Chugachmiut Heritage Preservation. We have been honored to get to know CHP through Assistant Archivist Dawn Randazzo’s work with as a Digital Knowledge Sharing Fellow.

11/11/2022

Listening to Alaska Native Elders: Oral History and Digital Platforms Expand the US History Narrative

This in is a great time to learn more about the experiences of Alaska Native WWII veterans and elders through the oral history work of Dr. Holly Guise. In this article, she describes her work, which has been supported by the APS through grants and fellowships, and her decision to preserve the interviews both with APS and tribal communities. https://www.historians.org/research-and-publications/perspectives-on-history/september-2022/listening-to-alaska-native-elders-oral-history-and-digital-platforms-expand-the-us-history-narrative

Through oral and digital history projects, Holly Miowak Guise works to bring her Alaska Native people into the US history narrative.

11/10/2022

Becoming Weatherwise: A History of Climate Science in America | American Philosophical Society

The APS Museum will be closed tomorrow, Friday, November 11. We are open this Saturday and Sunday 10 am-5 pm. https://www.amphilsoc.org/museum/exhibitions/becoming-weatherwise

Becoming Weatherwise is now open! Visit this page to learn more about our current policies and hours.

11/10/2022

Last evening, Kevin Weddle joined us to talk about the pivotal battle of Saratoga in the American Revolution. The victory inspired composer Madame Brillon to write "Marche des Insurgents," celebrating the surrender of Lt General John Burgoyne. Read more: https://www.amphilsoc.org/blog/hearing-madame-brillon-american-philosophical-society

11/09/2022

Lewis and Clark Fund for Exploration and Field Research | American Philosophical Society

The deadline for applications to the Lewis and Clark Fund for Exploration and Field Research is next week, November 15! Funds support doctoral students as they collect field specimens and data. More details: https://www.amphilsoc.org/grants/lewis-and-clark-fund-exploration-and-field-research

The Lewis and Clark Fund encourages exploratory field studies for the collection of specimens and data and to provide the imaginative stimulus that accompanies direct observation.

11/09/2022

ASU professor receives federal funding for technology to grow domestic critical minerals supply chain

Alexandra Navrotsky (APS 2011) is co-PI on a U.S. Department of Energy-funded project to devise technologies that will extract rare earth elements from red mud, a byproduct of aluminum manufacturing. https://news.asu.edu/20221107-asu-professor-receives-federal-funding-technology-grow-domestic-critical-minerals-supply

The U.S. Department of Energy announced $39 million in funding for 16 projects across 12 states to develop market-ready technologies that will increase domestic supplies of critical elements required for the clean energy transition. The selected projects, led by universities, national laboratories a...

11/08/2022

The APS is now hiring an Assistant for Development and Research. This position will provide support to the Development and Research departments through database maintenance, correspondence with donors and grantees, and more. Apply by Nov 30. https://www.amphilsoc.org/grants/assistant-development-and-research

11/07/2022

For Now and For Later: (Re)Contextualizing Elsie Clews Parsons from a Pueblo Perspective | American Philosophical Society

At the APS, Scholars Initiative Intern Alexis Scalese worked with the papers of anthropologist Elsie Clews Parsons, who used exploitative methods in her research of the Pueblo of Isleta. Scalese used poetry to respond:
https://www.amphilsoc.org/blog/now-and-later-recontextualizing-elsie-clews-parsons-pueblo-perspective

Before I began my internship, I knew I wanted to conduct research about Elsie Clews Parsons, a notorious anthropologist who conducted research in my Pueblo. She used extractive, and anti-Indigenous anthropological practices to research Isleta’s culture. Based on prior conversations I have had with...

11/04/2022

Research Fellowships at the Library & Museum of the American Philosophical Society | American Philosophical Society

: Have a research project (especially in the History of Science, Technology and Medicine, Early American History, or Native American and Indigenous Studies) that could benefit from time with APS collections? Applications are open for short and long-term fellowships at the APS's Library & Museum. https://www.amphilsoc.org/grants/fellowships

The APS's Library & Museum invites scholars to apply for fellowships to do research in the collections. Fellowships are offered for short-term and long-term opportunities, for subject-specific research, and in digital humanities. More information about these opportunities can be found below.

11/03/2022

“The Compleat Victory: Saratoga and the American Revolution” With Kevin J. Weddle | American Philosophical Society

Join us on November 9 at Washington Crossing Historic Park for a talk from Kevin J. Weddle on his book The Compleat Victory: Saratoga and the American Revolution. Register to attend or to receive the live stream link: https://www.amphilsoc.org/events/compleat-victory-weddle

In the late summer and fall of 1777, after two years of indecisive fighting on both sides, the outcome of the American War of Independence hung in the balance. Having successfully expelled the Americans from Canada in 1776, the British were determined to end the rebellion and devised what they belie...

11/03/2022

Research Fellowships at the Library & Museum of the American Philosophical Society | American Philosophical Society

Applications are open! Apply for one of our Native American Scholars Initiative’s year-long residential , open to pre- and post-doctoral scholars. Applications are due January 20th. Learn more here: https://www.amphilsoc.org/grants/fellowships

The APS's Library & Museum invites scholars to apply for fellowships to do research in the collections. Fellowships are offered for short-term and long-term opportunities, for subject-specific research, and in digital humanities. More information about these opportunities can be found below.

11/02/2022

Hastings Center Recognizes Anita L. Allen and Farhat Moazam with 2022 Bioethics Founders’ Award

Anita Allen (APS 2022) wins the 2022 Bioethics Founders’ Award from The Hastings Center, recognizing "substantial, sustained contributions to bioethics in ways that have advanced thinking and practice in medicine, the life sciences, and public policy." https://www.thehastingscenter.org/news/hastings-center-recognizes-anita-l-allen-and-farhat-moazam-with-2022-bioethics-founders-award/

Anita L. Allen, JD, PhD, the Henry R. Silverman Professor of Law and professor of philosophy at the University of Pennsylvania Carey School of Law, and

11/01/2022

Cartographer Margaret Pearce recently visited the APS to read linguists' field notebooks from the Mississippi River valley as part of the Mississippi Dialogues public art project. Read more about that project at https://www.studio1to1.net/mississippi

10/31/2022

Pompion Ale as Useful Knowledge | American Philosophical Society

Will you be celebrating Halloween by cracking open a pumpkin ale? If you do, it will look very different from this recipe for "pompion ale" submitted to the APS in 1771. https://www.amphilsoc.org/blog/pompion-ale-useful-knowledge

Love it or hate it, pumpkin beer’s appearance on drink menus is a perennial sign that fall has arrived. Today’s pumpkin beers are usually brewed with a traditional grain mash including barley, corn, or wheat, and finished with pumpkin and spices like cinnamon, allspice, and cloves at the end of ...

10/31/2022

Happy Halloween from the APS! This raven comes from the elephant folio of Audubon's Birds of America, measuring at 39.5 x 28.5 inches. The print series was released from 1827 to 1838, with 435 hand colored engravings making up a complete set.