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More than just what happened and why: From the History and Philosophy of Science to Applied Ethics and Religion, our courses connect across the OSU campus providing a broad perspective and a unique insight into the issues facing our world. Our students and faculty research on and collaborate with a wide array of disciplines from Oceanography to Nuclear Engineering - from Music to Environmental Science. Our school provides students with a series of lenses though which they can examine the universe and their place in it.

News and Reflection @ SHPR

SHPR Digest – May 2013

May 14, 2013

SHPR News Christopher McKnight Nichols has had a banner month starting with the American Military and Diplomatic History Conference that was held on campus May 7th to celebrate the launch of the Oxford Encyclopedia of Military and Diplomatic History – … Continue reading → Read full story.

Want to speed up the pulse of nature?

May 13, 2013

I am fanatically enthusiastic about the organizers of this summer’s Congress on the History of Science, Technology and Medicine, in Manchester, UK. This is how conferences should be done! They have rejected curmudgeon-hood and have fully embraced social media. They have started a blog beforehand, and they have included a list of presenting historians of science — … Continue reading → Read full story.

Mapping the Universe with Robert Fox

May 8, 2013

by Laura Cray* As a self-professed library nerd, I was excited to attend Robert Fox’s lecture, Mapping the Universe of Knowledge, on Monday, May 6, 2013. The lecture focused on work of Paul Otlet, Henri La Fontaine, and Hendrick Christian Andersen and their vision for a world united by knowledge. Robert Fox is professor emeritus [...] Read full story.

Arming Mother Nature Excerpted in Salon

Apr 27, 2013

I learned today that a portion (chapter 6, to be exact) of my book Arming Mother Nature has been excerpted on Salon. The excerpt is titled “We Tried to Weaponize the Weather,” which is much more direct that the chapter’s title, “Wildcat Ideas for Environmental Warfare.” It’s the natural one to excerpt, I think, because … Continue reading → Read full story.

Mina Carson’s new book: Ava Helen Pauling

Apr 24, 2013

Congratulations to Mina Carson, whose biography of Ava Helen Pauling provides a long-awaited study of a crucial yet often-neglected figure in the history of science and peace activism. Among its many merits is how well the book highlights the rich collections we have at Oregon State University. Here’s the book the description. It is so [...] Read full story.

The King’s Elephant

Apr 20, 2013

Last month, someone broke into the Paleontology wing of the Paris Museum of Natural History, and used a chain saw to cut off one of the tusks of the elephant skeleton there. The skeleton dates from 1681 and is the … Continue reading → Read full story.