Columbia History of Science Group

Speaker's Guide

Tradition and Customs

The Columbia History of Science Group [CHSG] first met in 1983, developing out of a weekly reading group at the University of Washington and efforts by historians of science at Oregon State University to bring together their colleagues in California and the Pacific Northwest. When Keith Benson joined the faculty at UW in 1981 he merged these two initiatives, forming the “Northwest Group.” Its first meeting was held at Fort Worden on the northeast corner of Washington’s Olympic Peninsula. The first meeting was an unqualified success. The intellectual merits of the gathering were undisputed, but an immediate change of name, venue, and catering service became high priorities. The twenty-three people who attended the first meeting agreed to orient their group’s name around the Columbia River, which allowed the inclusion of western and northwestern Americans as well as western Canadians. Recent scientific discoveries have demonstrated that the true source of the Columbia River is actually the Great Lakes, which allows the organization to include scholars from the Northwest, Midwest, and Great Lakes Region. A number of traditions were established at the first meeting, including the annual scheduling of prominent speakers who could not attend and the inclusion of members’ families, which was originally necessary so that the organization was large enough to be financially solvent.

Perhaps the most notable trradition and by far the most highly anticipated part of each year's meeting is the closing event, the Milosian Banquet, so named in honor of Milo, the caterer at the first meeting. Over the last three decades, the Milosian Banquet has evolved into an annual, black tie-optional dinner that includes a grilled salmon feast, impromptu entertainment, and the presentation of a number of awards, including the Golden Weenie, the Aztec Potato, the incendiary bat, the Yoni, and the Fickle Finger of Fate. Specifics regarding the general plan for the Milosian Banquet as well as details of any year's actual events are closely guarded secrets, known only to those who have participated in banquet. Occasional information leaks have led to formal sanctions, including election to governance positions in the organization.

After the first CHSG meeting at Fort Worden, the group has meet annually at the University of Washington’s Friday Harbor Labs. The setting encourages an air of informality and has provided a unique venue for the presentation of preliminary ideas on new projects. Speakers give tightly constructed, 15-minute talks and then are allowed ample time to discuss their work informally with their colleagues at receptions, meals, and recreation times. The combination of formal presentation and informal discussion has offered a warm and welcoming environment for junior scholars and introduced new scholarship, including for example Frank Sulloway’s work on birth order, Paul Farber’s analysis of evolutionary ethics, and Jane Maienschein’s study of “good science.”

For a detailed history of the meeting, see Keith Benson, “Flail on, Columbia: An Irreverent Look at HSS’s Soggiest Subsection, the Columbia History of Science Group,” in Catching Up with the Vision, Isis Supplement, 90 (1999): pp. 240-245.

Length and Style
Ideally, your talk will be 15 minutes long, leaving 10 minutes for discussion. You will be allowed no more than 20 minutes to present your work, which will leave only 5 minutes for discussion. At the 20 minute mark you will be stopped – the method for this usually involves the unrestrained use of abrasive noisemakers by longtime CHSG members. Your talk should not be read, nor should it be so informally presented that you waste precious time. Ultimately, the speaker’s goal at this conference is to introduce colleagues to his/her work in a manner that is broad enough, deep enough, and brief enough to simulate informal discussion.

Audio/Visual Resources
The room in which you will present your talk has an overhead projector that you are welcome to use. Ambient light makes it difficult to see detailed drawing unless the room is dimmed by closing the shades, thereby shutting out the view to the water and encouraging both senior scholars and badly hungover graduate students to sleep through your talk. Handouts are a good option for showing audience members detailed imagines. In the past, some speakers have brought a laptop and digital video projector in order to use Powerpoint or some other computer-based presentation. If you would like to do this, you need to bring your own equipment. However, elaborate use of technology is discouraged, as it contradicts the simplicity of our surroundings and the meeting’s emphasis on informal interaction. It will also likely lead to verbal abuse during receptions and meals.