Centre for the History of Medicine

Organised in collaboration with:
Aston University
Institute of Biology
Erasmus Darwin Foundation
Lichfield Science and Engineering Society
The Lunar Society

The 18 April 2002 marks the two hundredth anniversary of the death of the philosopher, poet, scientist and physician, Dr Erasmus Darwin FRS (1731-1802). As one way of commemorating this important event, and reminding ourselves of the outstanding contributions which darwin made to so many areas of life and learning in the second half of the eighteenth century, and international conference is being organised, with the purpose of rbinging together Darwin scholars from around the world.
The main venue will be The George Hotel, located in the centre of Lichfield, with other events being held in the cathedral and the nearby Erasmus Darwin Centre, located in his former house.

CONFERENCE PROGRAMME
FRIDAY, 19 APRIL 2002

18.00-19.00 Registration at Erasmus Darwin House

19.00-20.00 Reception at Erasmus Darwin House

19.30            Erasmus Darwin Memorial Lecture
(Organised by the Lichfield Science and Engineering Society)
Held in Lichfield Cathedral
Sir Kenneth Calman KCB (Vice-Chancellor and Warden, University of Durham)
An examination of Wit: Erasmus Darwin's Unwritten Book

SATURDAY, 20 APRIL 2002

OPENING SESSION
Chair: Dr C U M Smith (Aston University)

09.30            Opening of the Conference by Mr James Hawley TD,
Lord Lieutenant of Staffordshire

09.45            Conference Keynote Lecture
Dr Desmond King-Hele FRS
Catching up with Erasmus Darwin in a new century

10.15            Coffee

10.45            SESSION I: ERASMUS DARWIN AND MEDICINE
Chair: Mr Robert Arnott (University of Birmingham)

10.45-11.15 Keynote Paper
Professor Gordon Cook (Erasmus Darwin Foundation)
Dr Erasmus Darwin MD FRS (1731-1802): England's greatest physician

11.15-11.35 Professor Nicholas Wade (University of Dundee)
The vertiginous philosophers: Erasmus Darwin and William Charles Wells on vertigo

11.35-11.55 Dr Tim Carter (University of Birmingham)
Darwin, work and disease

11.55-12.15 Mr Christopher Chiswell (University of Birmingham)
Erasmus Darwin: a doctor first

12.15-12.35 Dr Christopher Gardner-Thorpe (University of Exeter)
Paley and Parkinson: two peri-erasmatic thinkers

12.35-12.55 Professor Rafaella Simili (University of Bologna)
Two special doctors: Erasmus Darwin and Luigi Galvani

12.55-13.15 Dr Denis Gibbs (Erasmus Darwin Foundation)
Physicians and Physick in 17th and 18th century Lichfield

13.15            Lunch

14.15            SESSION II: ERASMUS DARWIN AND BIOLOGY
Chair: Mr Brian Ford (Institute of Biology)

14.15-14.45 Keynote Paper
Professor John Pearn AM RFD (University of Queensland)
Erasmus Darwin in Australia

14.45-15.05 Dr Philip K Wilson (Penn State College of Medicine)
Erasmus Darwin on animal generation: placing heredity within historical and Zoonomian contexts

15.05-15.25 Dr C U M Smith (Aston University)
All from fibres: Erasmus Darwin's psychobiology

15.25            Tea

16.05-16.25 Dr Desmond King-Hele FRS
Erasmus Darwin - the air man

16.25            SESSION III: ERASMUS DARWIN AND EDUCATION
Chair: Dame Rachel Waterhouse DBE (The Lunar Society)

16.25-16.55 Keynote Paper
Professor Jenny Uglow (University of Warwick)
Darwin and the Lunar Society: educating the girls

19.00            Reception (Sponsored by The University of Birmingham)

19.30            Conference Dinner in The George Hotel
Guest Speaker: The Revd Canon Charles Taylor,
Precentor of Lichfield Cathedral

SUNDAY, 21 APRIL 2002

09.30            SESSION IV: ERASMUS DARWIN, TECHNOLOGY AND THE ENVIRONMENT
Chair: Dr Goronwy Tudor Jones (University of Birmingham)

09.30-10.00 Keynote Paper
Professor Hugh Torrens (University of Keele)
Erasmus Darwin's contributions to geological sciences

10.00-10.20 Dr Desmond King-Hele FRS
How Erasmus Darwin improved the steering of carriages - and cars

10.20-10.40 Dr Philip J B Jackson (University of Birmingham)
Mama and Papa: the ancestors of modern-day speech science

10.40-11.00 Dr Alan Barnes (University of Derby)
Negative and positive images: Erasmus Darwin, Tom Wedgwood and the origins of photography

11.00            Coffee

11.30            SESSION V: ERASMUS DARWIN ON POETRY AND LITERATURE
Chair: Dr Desmond King-Hele FRS

11.30-12.00 Keynote Paper
Professor Maurizio Valsania (University of Turin)
Nature and man in Erasmus Darwin's doctrine of imagination

12.00-12.20 Mr Stuart Harris (University of Sheffield)
The poet as pathologist: myth and medicine in Erasmus Darwin's epic poetry

12.20-12.40 Professor Martin Priestman (University of Roehampton in Surrey)
Metaphor and Science in Darwin's Temple of Nature

12.40-13.00 Dr Paul Elliott (University of Nottingham)
The Derbyshire "Darwinians": the Persistence of Erasmus Darwin's Influence on a British provincial Literary and Scientific Community, c. 1780-1850

13.00-14.00 Lunch

14.00            CLOSING SESSION
Chair: Mr Robert Arnott (University of Birmingham)

Closing Lecture
Professor David Knight (University of Durham)
'One great slaughter-house the warring world' - living in revolutionary times
14.45            Close of Conference Sessions

15.30            Choral Evensong in Lichfield Cathedral

17.00-18.30 Darwin Walks

19.30            Supper in The George Hotel

MONDAY, 22 APRIL 2002

CONFERENCE EXCURSION
For those who have booked, there is an optional all-day "Erasmus Darwin Tour", with visits to Derby, Radburne Hall, Breadsall Church and Breadsall Priory for lunch, and to visit his grave. The coach will leave The George Hotel at 09.30 and return at approximately 17.00.

PARTICIPATION COST
The cost of participation (including lunches, refreshments during sessions and dinners on the 20 and 21 April) will be in the region of £125 (inc. VAT), with the cost of accommodation and the optional all-day tour on the 22 April, extra.

ACCOMMODATION
There is ample accommodation in Lichfield to suit all tastes and budgets. A list of hotels and guesthouses provided by the Lichfield District Tourist Information Centre will be sent out to participants with the Second Circular.

FURTHER DETAILS
If you are interested in participating, please complete and print out the form below and return it before 31 July 2001. Queries can also be made to the address below, or by e-mail to: mailto:%20R.G.Arnott@bham.ac.uk

To: The Director, Centre for the History of Medicine, The Medical School, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, B15 2TT

I wish to participate in the International Conference on Erasmus Darwin.
Please send me a copy of the Second Circular.
Name:_____________________________________________________
Academic affiliation (if any):___________________________________
Address:___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________

E-mail:____________________________________

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Last updated: 7 March 2002
These pages are maintained by Robert Arnott

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INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE AND COMMEMORATION OF THE BICENTENARY OF THE DEATH OF ERASMUS DARWIN

19-22 APRIL 2002

CONFERENCE PROGRAMME

18.00-19.00					Registration at Erasmus Darwin House
19.00-20.00					Reception at Erasmus Darwin House
19.30					Erasmus Darwin Memorial Lecture (Organised by the Lichfield Science and Engineering Society) Held in Lichfield Cathedral Sir Kenneth Calman KCB (Vice-Chancellor and Warden, University of Durham) *An examination of Wit: Erasmus Darwin's Unwritten Book*

					OPENING SESSION Chair: Dr C U M Smith (Aston University)
09.30					Opening of the Conference by Mr James Hawley TD, Lord Lieutenant of Staffordshire
09.45					Conference Keynote Lecture Dr Desmond King-Hele FRS *Catching up with Erasmus Darwin in a new century*
10.15					Coffee
10.45					SESSION I: ERASMUS DARWIN AND MEDICINE Chair: Mr Robert Arnott (University of Birmingham)
10.45-11.15					Keynote Paper Professor Gordon Cook (Erasmus Darwin Foundation) *Dr Erasmus Darwin MD FRS (1731-1802): England's greatest physician*
11.15-11.35					Professor Nicholas Wade (University of Dundee) *The vertiginous philosophers: Erasmus Darwin and William Charles Wells on vertigo*
11.35-11.55					Dr Tim Carter (University of Birmingham) *Darwin, work and disease*
11.55-12.15					Mr Christopher Chiswell (University of Birmingham) *Erasmus Darwin: a doctor first*
12.15-12.35					Dr Christopher Gardner-Thorpe (University of Exeter) *Paley and Parkinson: two peri-erasmatic thinkers*
12.35-12.55					Professor Rafaella Simili (University of Bologna) *Two special doctors: Erasmus Darwin and Luigi Galvani*
12.55-13.15					Dr Denis Gibbs (Erasmus Darwin Foundation) *Physicians and Physick in 17th and 18th century Lichfield*
13.15					Lunch
14.15					SESSION II: ERASMUS DARWIN AND BIOLOGY Chair: Mr Brian Ford (Institute of Biology)
14.15-14.45					Keynote Paper Professor John Pearn AM RFD (University of Queensland) *Erasmus Darwin in Australia*
14.45-15.05					Dr Philip K Wilson (Penn State College of Medicine) *Erasmus Darwin on animal generation: placing heredity within historical and Zoonomian contexts*
15.05-15.25					Dr C U M Smith (Aston University) *All from fibres: Erasmus Darwin's psychobiology*
15.25					Tea
16.05-16.25					Dr Desmond King-Hele FRS *Erasmus Darwin - the air man*
16.25					SESSION III: ERASMUS DARWIN AND EDUCATION Chair: Dame Rachel Waterhouse DBE (The Lunar Society)
16.25-16.55					Keynote Paper Professor Jenny Uglow (University of Warwick) *Darwin and the Lunar Society: educating the girls*
19.00					Reception (Sponsored by The University of Birmingham)
19.30					Conference Dinner in The George Hotel Guest Speaker: The Revd Canon Charles Taylor, Precentor of Lichfield Cathedral

09.30					SESSION IV: ERASMUS DARWIN, TECHNOLOGY AND THE ENVIRONMENT Chair: Dr Goronwy Tudor Jones (University of Birmingham)
09.30-10.00					Keynote Paper Professor Hugh Torrens (University of Keele) *Erasmus Darwin's contributions to geological sciences*
10.00-10.20					Dr Desmond King-Hele FRS *How Erasmus Darwin improved the steering of carriages - and cars*
10.20-10.40					Dr Philip J B Jackson (University of Birmingham) *Mama and Papa: the ancestors of modern-day speech science*
10.40-11.00					Dr Alan Barnes (University of Derby) *Negative and positive images: Erasmus Darwin, Tom Wedgwood and the origins of photography*
11.00					Coffee
11.30					SESSION V: ERASMUS DARWIN ON POETRY AND LITERATURE Chair: Dr Desmond King-Hele FRS
11.30-12.00					Keynote Paper Professor Maurizio Valsania (University of Turin) *Nature and man in Erasmus Darwin's doctrine of imagination*
12.00-12.20					Mr Stuart Harris (University of Sheffield) *The poet as pathologist: myth and medicine in Erasmus Darwin's epic poetry*
12.20-12.40					Professor Martin Priestman (University of Roehampton in Surrey) *Metaphor and Science in Darwin's Temple of Nature*
12.40-13.00					Dr Paul Elliott (University of Nottingham) *The Derbyshire "Darwinians": the Persistence of Erasmus Darwin's Influence on a British provincial Literary and Scientific Community, c. 1780-1850*
13.00-14.00					Lunch
14.00					CLOSING SESSION Chair: Mr Robert Arnott (University of Birmingham)
					Closing Lecture Professor David Knight (University of Durham) *'One great slaughter-house the warring world' - living in revolutionary times*
14.45					Close of Conference Sessions
15.30					Choral Evensong in Lichfield Cathedral
17.00-18.30					Darwin Walks
19.30					Supper in The George Hotel