"The Idea of a Measurable Space" - Joseph Priestley's 1765 Chart of Biography

On 1 June, I will be talking at the Institute of Historical Research, Senate House, University of London, on "The Idea of a Measurable Space": Joseph Priestley's 1765 Chart of Biography

My central question will be: why did Priestley’s Chart of Biography take the form it did? I'll trace the answers through the contemporary visual and intellectual culture, and through some of Priestley's personal characteristics.  I'll also ask what is unique about Priestley's approach - correcting some common errors - and highlight what is truly special about his contribution.

Date
1 June 2016, 17:15 - 19:15
Venue
Wolfson Room I (NB01)
Senate House
Malet Street
London WC1E 7HU

More event information here.

Forthcoming talks on chronographics

On 20 May, Florian will be presenting at the Digital Humanities Early Career Conference 2016 "Mapping the Scope & Reach of the Digital Humanities" at King's College London.

The paper focuses on the relationships between the digital, humanities, design, and research.

Full conference programme here.




On 1 June, I will be talking at the Institute of Historical Research on "The Idea of a Measurable Space": Joseph Priestley's 1765 Chart of Biography

My central question will be: why did Priestley’s Chart of Biography take the form it did?  I'll trace the answers through the contemporary visual and intellectual culture, and through some of Priestley's personal characteristics.  I'll also ask what is unique about Priestley's approach - correcting some common errors - and highlight what is truly special about his contribution.

Date
1 June 2016, 17:15 - 19:15
Venue
Wolfson Room I (NB01)
Senate House
Malet Street
London WC1E 7HU

More event information here.



On Saturday 18 June, I will be contributing a talk to a joint study day between the V&A and the Science Museum.

Though the day is called 'Sensing Time: The Art and Science of Clocks and Watches' I won't be talking about either clocks or watches!  Instead I will focus on the 'mechanical' aspects of diagrams of historic time. Here is the blurb for the day:

Time is of the essence. This truth is visible, tangible and audible in the masterpieces of horology in collections across the globe. This interdisciplinary study day will bring together international expertise from curators, makers and conservators. It will explore the different priorities for collecting clocks and watches from exquisite decoration, to materials, mechanics and technological innovation.

Date
Saturday 18 June, 10.00 – 17.00
Venue
The Lydia & Manfred Gorvy Lecture Theatre

More event information here.



On 14 July, Olivia Vane and I will be presenting a paper by myself, Olivia and Florian at Electronic Visualisation and the Arts - 'Using Data Visualisation to tell Stories about Collections'.

The paper explores visualisation of “big data” from digitised museum collections and archives, focusing on the relationship between data, visualisation and narrative. A contrast is presented between visualisations that show “just the data” and those that present the information in such a way as to tell a story using visual rhetorical devices; such devices have historically included trees, streams, chains, geometric shapes and other forms. The contrast is explored through historical examples and a survey of current practice.  A discussion centred on visualising datasets from the British Library, Science Museum and Wellcome Library is used to outline key research questions.

Dates
Tuesday 12th July - Thursday 14th July 2016
Venue
BCS
First Floor
The Davidson Building,
5 Southampton Street
London
WC2E 7HA

More event information here.