Registratie geopend: Anton Pannekoek (1873-1960), Ways of Viewing Science and Society (Amsterdam, 9-10 June 2016)

22 april 2016

On 9 & 10 June 2016, an interdisciplinary conference will be held at the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences in Amsterdam, which explores how scholarship, arts and political ideology interacted during the early twentieth century.

The goal of the conference is to shed new light on the work of Anton Pannekoek and his contemporaries: scientists and artists that were active in radical politics. Why were radical politics, science and modernism so often closely intertwined perspectives at the turn of the twentieth century? This conference addresses how scientific or artistic ambitions interacted with political aspirations, and how ‘ways of viewing’ informed scientific, artistic and political choices.

Confirmed speakers include:

  • Klaas van Berkel (History of Science, Groningen)
  • Edward van den Heuvel (Astronomy, Amsterdam)
  • Alexei Kojevnikov (History of Science, U. British Columbia)
  • Paul Mattick Jr. (Philosophy and Art Theory, Adelphi U.)
  • Robert W. Smith (History of Science, Alberta)
  • Jennifer Tucker (History of Science, Wesleyan U.)
  • Gerrit Voerman (Political History, Groningen).

Part of the conference is a visit to the Inverted Night Sky exhibition at the Stedelijk Museum Bureau Amsterdam (SMBA; open 15 May to July 3). Here, visual artist Jeronimo Voss presents an audio visual installation inspired by Pannekoek’s Milky Way research and current research of the Anton Pannekoek Institute for Astronomy of the University of Amsterdam. A guided tour will take place for participants on June 8.

Attendence to the conference is free, but registration is required. Please register at http://iop.uva.nl/pannekoek2016

Organization (on behalf of the Royal Netherlands Academy and the Anton Pannekoek Institute for Astronomy, University of Amsterdam, with SMBA):

  • Jeroen van Dongen (Amsterdam)
  • Edward van den Heuvel (Amsterdam)
  • Bart van der Steen (Leiden)
  • Chaokang Tai (Amsterdam/Utrecht)
  • Jeronimo Voss (Frankfurt a.M.)
  • Ralph Wijers (Amsterdam)