The Politics of Chemistry

Erscheinungsjahr 2019
ISBN: 978-1-108-48243-1
Verlag: Cambridge University Press

Buch, Englisch, 308 Seiten, Format (B × H): 157 mm x 235 mm, Gewicht: 605 g

Reihe: Science in History

Agustí Nieto-Galan argues that chemistry in the twentieth century was deeply and profoundly political. Far from existing in a distinct public sphere, chemical knowledge was applied in ways that created strong links with industrial and military projects, and national rivalries and international endeavours, that materially shaped the living conditions of millions of citizens. It is within this framework that Nieto-Galan analyses how Spanish chemists became powerful ideological agents in different political contexts, from liberal to dictatorial regimes, throughout the century. He unveils chemists' position of power in Spain, their place in international scientific networks, and their engagement in fierce ideological battles in an age of extremes. Shared discourses between chemistry and liberalism, war, totalitarianism, religion, and diplomacy, he argues, led to advancements in both fields.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Nieto-Galan, Agustí

Inhaltsverzeichnis

List of figures; Preface; Acknowledgments; Chronology; List of abbreviations; Introduction; Biographies of power; A political chemistry; 1. Dreams of Modernity; 1.1 Cosmopolitanism; 1.2 Laboratories and schools; 1.3 Useful chemistry; 2. A republican science; 2.1 A new enlightenment; 2.2 Nobel visitors; 2.3 The Silver Age of industry; 3. War weapons; 3.1 A chemical civil war; 3.2 A damaged community; 3.3 Tortured skills; 4. Totalitarian ambitions; 4.1 Fascist chemistry; 4.2 Chemistry and religion; 5. Autarchic ambiguities; 5.1 'Our' chemicals; 5.2 'Technical' chemistry; 5.3 Chemical diplomacy; 6. Technocratic progress; 6.1 'Neutral' expertise; 6.2 Cold war allies; 6.3 Corporate chemistry; 7. Liberal dissent; 7.1 Chemists in exile; 7.2 Internal refugees; Conclusion: the moral ambiguity of chemistry; Pure-applied chemistry; Modernisation paradoxes; A troubled identity; Chemists as intellectuals; History and memory; Addendum: Juan Julio Bonet Sugrañes (1940–2006); Bibliography; Index.

Über Autor(innen)

Nieto-Galan, Agustí
Agustí Nieto-Galan is Professor of History of Science at the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB), He has written widely on the history of chemistry and natural dyestuffs, the history of science popularization and the urban history of science (eighteenth to twentieth centuries). In 2009 and 2018, he was awarded the 'ICREA-Acadèmia' Research Prize by the Catalan Government.