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                *Negotiating Radiation Protection*
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<br>*Global Webinar**+Workshop*
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<br>*Conveners: *
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<br>Prof. Angela Creager, Princeton University
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<br>Prof. Kenji Ito, SOKENDAI
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<br>Prof. Susan Lindee, University of Pennsylvania
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<br>Prof. Maria Rentetzi, Technical University Berlin/Max Planck Institute for
<br>History of Science
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<br>The history of radiation protection is more than just a story of scientific
<br>standard-setting and regulatory control both within and among nations. The
<br>subject calls for a broader conception of international relations, science
<br>diplomacy, and circulation of knowledge, materials, and expertise. Over
<br>time, radiation protection involved experts in fields ranging from physics
<br>to ecology, engineering to political science, and even sociology, public
<br>health, and psychology. These experts competed and cooperated to exert
<br>their authority through international organizations and regulatory
<br>bodies. *This webinar explores
<br>the kind of organizational structures, material resources, knowledge
<br>systems, and diplomatic practices that allowed the social and political
<br>shaping of the scientific field of radiation protection.*
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<br>Focusing mainly on the period before World War II, historians have
<br>highlighted scientists' struggles (a) to define the appropriate unit of
<br>radiation; (b) to invent suitable measurement devices; (c) to detect and to
<br>agree on the effects of radiation on biological systems; and (d) to
<br>identify the acceptable risk of radiation exposure. The scientific
<br>controversies that emerged in these processes reveal the powerful role of
<br>those scientific institutions responsible for standards for radiation
<br>safety. Most of these studies are focused on the U.S.
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<br>After World War II, the rapid development and adoption of new medical
<br>technologies such as radioisotope teletherapy units and the development of
<br>the nuclear power industry posed numerous challenges in the field of
<br>radiation protection, pushing traditional centers of power such as the
<br>Paris and Vienna Radium Institutes aside. The mass quantities and new types
<br>of radiation and radioactive materials forced new approaches in the field
<br>and created opportunities for the international regulation of radiation
<br>risks. Undoubtedly, the international regulatory system that took shape at
<br>the end of the 1950s was a result of the geopolitical division of the Cold
<br>War. Regulation became an instrument of social management and a matter of
<br>political dispute among UN agencies, established international disciplinary
<br>organizations, state and non-state actors, groups of prominent scientists,
<br>and uneasy diplomats. As the nuclear power industry became multinational,
<br>radiation protection standards were negotiated in the context of
<br>international politics where centralized global institutions, politicians,
<br>diplomats, and corporations play significant roles.
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<br>This webinar seeks to bring together an interdisciplinary group of scholars
<br>working, among other fields, on the transnational history of nuclear
<br>knowledge, on diplomatic history and political sciences, on history of
<br>international law, on history of medicine and epidemiology, and the role of
<br>international organizations in shaping policies concerning radiation
<br>protection throughout the 20th century. Our main question is how the notion
<br>of radioactive contamination crossed the border between science and
<br>politics. We are interested  in the work of those who employ historical,
<br>philosophical, sociological methods and methodological tools from political
<br>sciences and international relations in order to investigate (to mentions
<br>just a few research directions)
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<br>·       the nuclear diplomacy in and around international organizations
<br>such as IAEA and ICRP or important bilateral institutions such as RERF;
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<br>·       bilateral negotiations in relation to exchange of material and
<br>human resources in the field of radiation protection;
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<br>·       science diplomacy concerning radiation protection, nuclear
<br>safeguards, and technical assistance programs;
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<br>·       the historical role of diplomats and science/technical experts in
<br>negotiating nuclear agreements;
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<br>·       the international law concerning nuclear issues.
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<br>The webinar takes place once a month during the academic year 2020-2021
<br>from September 2020 to June 2021 (10 meetings). Participants are invited to
<br>present their pre-circulated papers and a commentator leads the online
<br>discussion. Key scholars from diverse fields will be invited as
<br>commentators to encourage strong interdisciplinary discussion. At the end
<br>of the academic year—if the covid-19 pandemic allows us—the entire group
<br>will meet in Berlin for a workshop and for planning the publication of
<br>a collective
<br>volume. Some travel funding will be available for participants whose
<br>institutions cannot cover their trip to Berlin.
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<br>The webinar is part of the HRP-IAEA project that has received funding from
<br>the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union’s Horizon 2020
<br>research and innovation programme (Consolidator Grant agreement No770548)
<br>led by Prof. Maria Rentetzi at the Technical University Berlin.
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<br>*Application procedure: *
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<br>Please send us a brief description of your research project (up to 1500
<br>words) and a short cv. Applications should be sent to Ms Nina Krampitz
<br>nina.krampitz@tu-berlin.de
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<br>cc to Maria Rentetzi maria.rentetzi@tu-berlin.de
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<br>*Deadline:* 30 July 2020
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<br>We are looking forward to your contributions.
<br>--
<br>Professor Dr. Maria Rentetzi,
<br>ERC Consolidator Grantee
<br>
<br>Technical University Berlin
<br>
<br>Faculty I - Humanities
<br>Institute of Philosophy, Literary Studies, History of Science and Technology
<br>
<br>Straße des 17. Juni 135
<br>D - 10623 Berlin
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<br>https://www.philosophie.tu-berlin.de/menue/fachgebiete/wissenschaftsgeschicht
<br>e/team/fachgebietsleitung_und_sekretariat/prof_dr_maria_rentetzi/
<br>
<br>skype name: live:mrentetz_1
<br>email: mrentetz@vt.edu
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<br>President of the Gender Commission of DHST (2017-2021)
<br>International Union of the History and Philosophy of Science
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