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Loath to Print: The Reluctant Scientific Author 1500-1750

May 5, 2022 @ 6:00 pm - 7:30 pm EDT

Sponsored by The Grolier Club

Dr. Nicole Howard, Professor of History at Eastern Oregon University, will speak on her new book, Loath to Print: The Reluctant Scientific Author 1500-1750 (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2022). She will explore how, during the early modern era, some scientific authors disliked and distrusted the newly invented printing press, to the point where they avoided publishing their work. Dr. Howard will look at early modern printing technology from the perspective of the natural philosophers and physicians who relied on it to share ideas – it was very important to scientific and medical advances of this era. But scientists also had many justified concerns about publishing their discoveries, including the potential for printers’ errors, the risk of having texts pirated, and – most worrisome – the likelihood that readers were ill-prepared to understand complex new ideas. Such authors developed strategies for controlling, circumventing, or altogether avoiding the broad audiences that print afforded, opening up gaps between those with scientific knowledge and the lay public that still persist today.

This will be a live online event, and all attendees will receive an email with the link the day of the event. If you’ve not received a link by 9:00 am Eastern time, please check your spam folder.

Register on Eventbrite here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/grolier-club-virtual-lecture-on-early-science-authors-tickets-307135479487?aff=ebdsoporgprofile

Details

Date:
May 5, 2022
Time:
6:00 pm - 7:30 pm EDT
Event Tags:
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