Who Does the Work of Science? A Century of Science as Passion, Punishment, and Paycheck

Laura Stark is a historical sociologist and Associate Professor at Vanderbilt University. Her second book project, The Normals: A People’s History, explores how a global market for healthy civilian “human subjects” emerged in law, science, and everyday imagination over the past century. The Normals shows how logics of racialized citizenship were built into American clinical science in the post-World War II period—and how scientists and their human subjects worked for change. The George Sarton Memorial Lecture in the History and Philosophy of Science, named after a founding member of the History of Science Society (HSS), was first awarded in 1960. The lecture is given annually at the AAAS Annual Meeting by a distinguished practitioner in the history of science. Recorded March 4, 2023 at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. For more information on this topic, please see https://www.chstm.org/video/170

Om Podcasten

A new public events series from the Consortium for History of Science, Technology and Medicine brings historical perspective to contemporary issues and concerns. In the public forums, historians and other specialists speak about culturally relevant topics in front of a live audience at Consortium member institutions. Forum subjects range from medical consumerism to public trust in science and technology. Videos of these events are also available at chstm.org. In podcast episodes, authors of new books in the history of science, technology, and medicine respond to questions from readers with a wide variety of backgrounds and expertise. These conversations illuminate the utility and relevance of the past in light of current events.