Letter Originally Appeared in the January, 2006 newsletter.
WHAT IS TO BE DONE?
When Lenin posed that question a little over a century ago, he was worried about the Marxist transformation of Russian Social Democracy. Luckily, the concerns that face me as incoming President of the History of Science Society, are on a more modest scale. They are, however, the kind of challenges that can only be met collectively, hence I appeal to the solidarity of the membership in two areas that might be labeled "theory" and "praxis."
Idealism: Contribute Your Ideas to Our Planning for the Future
What does HSS do now that it could be doing better? What do we not do that we would like to be doing? What do we do that has become useless or counterproductive? The Executive Committee is assembling an ad hoc committee, under the leadership of Bruce Hunt, to open up these and other questions. The result is not likely to resemble the Russian Revolution, but we hope that it will give rise to specific ideas and a renewed sense of direction. The results of this process will be passed on to Council and committees for discussion and (when they meet with favor, energy, and resources) for implementation. Please help.
Send your thoughts to Bruce (bjhunt@mail.utexas.edu) or to me (jcadden@ucdavis.edu) and they will be incorporated into the conversation.
Materialism: Contribute Your Dollars to Endow the Current Bibliography
The production of the Current Bibliography and its incorporation into the on-line data base "History of Science Technology and Medicine" * are among the most ambitious services HSS offers to its members and a broader public. With the help of an NEH grant, we hope to endow the position of Society Bibliographer, both to insure its future and to free up funds to pursue other services and programs (see "Idealism" above). To receive the full $125,000 offered by the NEH, we must raise matching funds on a strict timetable. Please help.