Date: Wednesday, February12th
Time: 6:00 – 7:30 PM
Location: Fayerweather Hall (Room 513), Columbia University, 1180 Amsterdam Avenue, New York

Disability has been a central—if unacknowledged—force in the history of science and the scientific disciplines. Across historical epistemology and laboratory research, disability has been “good to think with”: an object of investigation made to yield generalizable truths. Yet disability is rarely imagined to be the source of expertise, especially the kind of expertise that produces (rational, neutral, universal) scientific knowledge.

Jaipreet Virdi, Mara Mills, and Sarah F. Rose introduce a disability history of science in the current volume of Osiris, which they co-edited. Across the volume, contributors trace the disabling impacts of scientific theories and practices in the contexts of war, factory labor, insurance, and colonialism; others excavate racial and settler ableism in the history of scientific facts, protocols, and collections; still others query the boundaries between scientific, lay, and disability expertise. Contending that disability alters method, the volume’s authors bring new sources and interpretation techniques to the history of science, overturn familiar narratives, apply disability analyses to established terms and archives, and discuss accessibility issues for disabled historians.

In this talk, the three editors emphasize how disability history and the history of science need to be placed in conversation to foreground disability epistemologies, disabled scientists, and disability sciencing (engagement with scientific tools and processes). Looking beyond the paradigms of medicalization and industrialization, the editors further propose a “scientific management model of disability” to account for the shaping of disabled lives and relations by the applied sciences, from the ancient world to the present.

Event Speakers

• Mara Mills, Associate Professor of Media, Culture, and Communication at New York University
• Sarah F. Rose, Associate Professor of History at the University of Texas at Arlington
• Jaipreet Virdi, Associate Professor of History at the University of Deleware

Event Information

Free and open to the public; registration required. Contact scienceandsociety@columbia.edu or historyofscience@nyu.edu for questions. 

This event is part of the New York History of Science Lecture Series.

Sponsoring Organizations:

• Columbia University in the City of New York
• NYU Gallatin School of Individualized Study
• The Graduate Center, City University of New York
• The New York Academy of Medicine
• The New York Academy of Sciences

Co-sponsored by the Center for Disability Studies at New York University. 

The Center for Science and Society makes every reasonable effort to accommodate individuals with disabilities. If you require disability accommodations to attend a Center for Science and Society event, please contact us at scienceandsociety@columbia.edu or (212) 854-0666 at least 10 days in advance of the event. For more information, please visit the campus accessibility webpage. 

Date: Thursday, February 13th
Time: 6:00 PM
Location: 208 Knox Hall, 606 W 122nd St, New York, NY 10027
RSPV here.

Join Mohammad Sadegh Ansari to discuss his book, The Science of Music: Knowledge Production in Medieval Baghdad and Beyond. In this innovative work, Ansari explores how the medieval Islamic intellectual tradition conceptualized and produced scientific knowledge, offering a unique perspective that bridges musicology and intellectual history. He examines how music, categorized as a branch of the mathematical sciences alongside arithmetic, geometry, and astronomy, was intricately linked to medicine and astrology as part of a cosmological system of knowledge. Through this lens, the book raises thought-provoking questions about the impact of defining music as a ‘science’ rather than an ‘art’ and what it reveals about medieval Islamic civilizations’ understanding of truth and the universe.

Join us for a conference marking the 40th anniversary of Brazil’s return to democracy after 21 years of military-civilian dictatorship. We will explore the convergence of political, social, and economic transitions that defined this period, situating it within the broader regional history of authoritarianism in Latin America. The conference will examine how pro-democracy movements advocating for racial justice, human rights, and government accountability emerged at the municipal level, often preceding their influence on national politics. We aim to reevaluate how law functioned both as an instrument of state violence and as a tool leveraged by marginalized groups to advocate for their basic needs, thereby expanding the meaning of citizenship. The event will also reflect on key historiographical debates that illuminate the complex relationship between law, democracy, and violence in Latin America. Marking 40 years since Brazil’s return to democracy offers a critical opportunity to examine the very ideas of “transition” and “democratization.” Using Brazil as a focal point, we will also explore the intertwined, recent histories of nations emerging from dictatorships across the Americas in the context of current global political challenges.

Speakers

• Amy Chazkel, Columbia University
• Barbara Weinstein, New York University
• Claudio Lomnitz, Columbia University
• Daniela Traldi, Columbia University
• Gianpaolo Baiocchi, New York University
• Jacob Blanc, McGill University
• James N. Green, Brown University (Emeritus)
• Juan Ignacio Arboleda, University of Pennsylvania
• Keisha-Kahn Perry, University of Pennsylvania
• Kendall Thomas, Columbia University
• Larissa Rosa Correa, PUC-Rio and Harvard University
• Mariana Cavalcanti, Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro and Columbia University
• Martha S. Jones, Johns Hopkins University
• Melissa Teixeira, University of Pennsylvania
• Oscar Vilhena Vieira, Fundação Getulio Vargas
  

Please email disability@columbia.edu to request disability accommodations. Advance notice is necessary to arrange for some accessibility needs.

Please click here to see the full program and to register for this event. Registration is required.

Date: Friday, February 28th
Time: 10:00 AM – 6:30 PM
Location: Room 406, Lehman Centre for American History, Columbia University, 420 W 118th St., New York, NY 10027

Date: Friday, February 28th
Time: 4:10 PM
Location: 208 Knox Hall, 606 W 122nd St, New York, NY 10027
RSPV here.

Join Teren Sevea for a discussion of his essay, Singapore’s Islamic Pasts: Alexanders in an Island Below the Wind. The essay explores the fascinating history of Singapore’s first Islamic king, Iskandar Sahib, tracing his legacy as a descendant of the pre-Qur’anic prophet and king Iskandar Dhu al-Qarnayn. Through Malay court chronicles, oral histories, and Sufi traditions, Sevea uncovers how Islamic communities have preserved and reclaimed their histories amidst marginalization. This engaging work connects the rich cultural and spiritual heritage of Singapore’s Islamic past with the voices of chroniclers, storytellers, and everyday community members.