ALAN RAUCH

Present Position

Professor, Department of English; Director, Humanities Technology & Science (HTAS) , University of North Carolina at Charlotte

Chapter Affiliation

Member-at-Large

Background Information

CV
Biography

Statement

Having recently received the solicitation for Sigma Xi nominations and given that I have been a member for over 30 years, I feel impelled to submit my name for a position in an organization that I have always admired, and from which I have learned a great deal.

What I take to be a strength in my candidacy might be viewed by some members as a weakness, but I hope to convince skeptics otherwise. Throughout my professional career my teaching appointment has always been in the humanities, even though most of my research and work has been in what is called "Cultural Studies of Science." I am proud of the work that I did at Georgia Tech, in conjunction with colleagues in my department and across campus, to establish a relatively new field of study. We were able to implement that field programmatically on campus and more universally through the Society of Literature, Science, and the Arts and the journal Configurations (for which I was editor). My commitment to interdisciplinary thinking has also been central to my teaching and research at UNC Charlotte. As the Director of a university wide minor in Humanities, Technology, and Science (HTAS), my “constituency” includes students from virtually every discipline on campus. I have advised many students and their advisors to explore not only membership in Sigma Xi, but the possibility of Grants in Aid.

Throughout my career I have maintained memberships in AAAS, The History of Science Society, and, of course, Sigma Xi. It has been Sigma Xi, however, that I have turned to most frequently as a resource for myself and for my students. Sigma Xi (and by extension, American Scientist) have made an exemplary effort to recognize the social, historical, and cultural context of the sciences. Having said that, however, I am also aware that individuals from the humanities, who are deeply connected to the sciences, may well be underrepresented in Sigma Xi. The point is not to change the objectives or the primary focus of the organization, but rather to to introduce perspectives from other scientifically oriented disciplines ranging from History of Science, to sociology of science, and even more recently, cultural studies of science. Having served for over a decade as editor of Configurations, the leading and highly respected journal in science studies, I have encountered hundreds of scholars who share interests, to say nothing of research objectives, with members of Sigma Xi. It is, I think, appropriate to make an effort to facilitate and enhance the dialogue among the disciplines by being a little more welcoming and, if you’ll forgive me, more mindful of possible liaisons.

My own background in the sciences was certainly responsible for bringing me to Sigma Xi as a member. And despite my doctorate in the humanities, my continued work on projects dealing with marine mammals, edentates, as well as ideas of representation and extinction, have kept me close to the content of Sigma Xi. As a scholar of the nineteenth century, I have also published extensively about the many women who not merely popularized but disseminated scientific knowledge in Britain. More recently, I have been exploring the technologies that made that popularization possible, including the roads, bridges, and inventions of Thomas Telford, John Loudon MacAdam, and Isambard Kingdom Brunel.

I have described my personal interests and background in science and technology not merely to make a “case” for myself, but to serve as an example of the very broad community of scholars working in areas that complement the interests and research of the Sigma Xi membership. I appreciate that Sigma Xi has welcomed many historians of science into its fold, but there are many other scholars whose work would enhance the intellectual base of Sigma Xi.

Vision

While I understand that my responsibilities as Associate Director for Members at Large for Sigma Xi are designated in advance. In other words, the position directly supports the work of the Director. But I also want to underscore that as an elected “official,” my connection to humanities disciplines would underscore the importance of broad interdisciplinary connections in Sigma Xi. As universities and state legislatures advocate for highly focused STEM curricula, it is critical for our strongest societies to accentuate the benefits of comprehending the work of science and technology in the context of history and culture. This is a dialogue that isn’t new; no doubt every reader here understands that, but that dialogue is difficult to sustain amongst scholars and students, particularly when administrators, willingly or not, constrain interdisciplinary outreach. The result is that it can be difficult to nurture this kind of intellectual exchange, even as its importance is necessitated by the implications of climate change, pandemics, and technological innovation. These topics are both driven and informed by the kind of commitment, intellect, and shared knowledge that make human inquiry worthwhile. Literacy of all kinds is enhanced by a form of dialogue that is fundamental to Sigma Xi, and I would be honored to participate in that process.

ALAN RAUCH

Present Position

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