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A lot of scientific and non-scientific discoveries are known to have been done by chance or even accident. We all know the story of how Alexander Fleming accidentally discovered penicillin when one of his staph bacteria cultures got infected by a fungus. Another example that might not be as well-known is sildenafil, also known as […]

Perhaps the recent surge towards objects and materiality is connected to a deep restructuring of our collective unconsciousness tied to a sense of ‘waking up inside an object’, as philosopher and blogger Timothy Morton writes about here? Humans no longer live in a “world” or in an “environment,” and certainly not in “nature.” Global warming […]

For those who are interested in new materialist and object-oriented philosophy, the fledgling journal Speculations is a great source for state of the art experimental writing in the speculative realist vein. The second volume has just been released and can be found here. Here is a snippet from the editors introduction, which gives an idea […]

In the introduction New Materialisms – Ontology, Agency, and Politics, another of the recent anthologies on materialism (you can read about some of the other here and here), editors Diana Coole and Samantha Frost discuss the notion of a ‘critical materialism’. Building on social constructionist arguments, they work to integrate the critical approach of post-structuralists […]

The deluge of publications on the material turn and the new materialism continues. I wrote about two anthologies last week, and now Oxford University Press have a new anthology out, The Oxford Companion to Material Studies. The introductory chapter can be read here. Interestingly, the editors Dan Hicks and Mary C. Beaudry, take a somewhat […]

Den sidste film i serien ‘Favourite Things’ om medarbejderne på Medicinsk Museions yndlingsting er en detektivhistorie, en film noir: Vores museumsinspektør Niels Christian har valgt at fortælle om den såkaldte ‘Niels Terkelsens hånd’ – en håndprotese fra 1800tallet  – og det detektivarbejde det har været at grave historien omkring genstanden frem. På Medicinsk Museion er der nemlig […]

Vores publikumsmedarbejder Anni kommer tit på museet tidligt om morgenen, og hun nyder at gå rundt i de gamle bygninger, hvor tidens gang er synlig i de smukke, slidte trapper og de majestætiske men skæve vinduer. Hun vil gerne huske de besøgende på, at den bygning de går rundt i, faktisk er en af Medicinsk […]

I lyset fra sin lommelygte viste vores konservator Charlotte mig sin yndlingsgenstand i en mørk afkrog af Medicinsk Museions samling: Et skab med en mængde små figurer på omkring 20 cm, hver med sit ansigtsudtryk og med forskellige proteser og bandager på. Protesepræsentationsmodellen har stået hos en bandagist i Jylland, og er formentlig fra midten af 1800-tallet. […]

Vores ph.d. stipendiat Anette har valgt et speculum som sin yndlingsting, på trods af at hun har meget ambivalente følelser omkring netop denne genstand. Som udgangspunkt syntes Anette, at speculummet var en irriterende, kold genstand. Så en dag blev hun bedt om at tegne det. Da hun så det ligge og glimte i lyset på tegnebordet, gik […]

The upcoming one-day conference ‘Curating Science’ at Kingston University in London on 6 May — bringing together curators and communicators from museums, galleries and new sites of engagement to explore the role of science in the exhibition — looks sort of interesting Intersections in Art, Science and Society: Nicola Triscott, Director, The Arts Catalyst Turning […]

I’m a sucker for old analytical-philosophical virtues. That is, I like to analyse words and phrases in the light of common experience and ordinary language. I love to ask simple questions, like “What do you actually mean by X”? My desire for analytical philosophy was triggered again the other day when I recieved the call for a conference titled ‘Bio-objects for Europe?’ organised by the European […]

I ugens ‘Favourite Things’-film fortæller og undrer vores museumschef Thomas sig over sin egen fascination af microplaten, nutidens udgave af reagensglasset. Han beundrer den lavteknologiske genstand, der er en del af hverdagen på de fleste laboratorier, og som har været med til at revolutionere biomedicinen. Desuden har microplatens gennemsigtige plastik en stor æstetisk tiltrækning. httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=twBUZlLjeHA Se de tidligere ‘Favourite […]