History of Science
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Rebranding Greece: The Transformation Narrative at the 1950 Chicago Trade Fair
Greece’s participation at the First United States Trade Fair of Chicago in 1950 served as a critical platform for reshaping its national image in the aftermath of World War II and the Greek Civil War. Amid forty-seven participating nations Greece utilized the fair not only to showcase its agricultural and craft products but also to project a narrative of resilience and progress. This narrative intertwined past adversity with present achievements leveraging international aid and the Marshall Plan as catalysts for modernization. By analyzing Greece’s participation the paper highlights the transnational dynamics of global trade and the nation’s alignment with Western Cold War objectives. It underscores Greece’s nuanced portrayal as both a recovering nation and an emerging contender capable of contributing to the global economy while emphasizing its ongoing need for external support. The Greek participation transcended immediate economic gains forging long-term diplomatic and commercial ties enhancing Greece’s image as a modernizing state and securing its position in Cold War geopolitics. The interplay of cultural diplomacy economic strategy and identity formation underscores the significance of Greece’s post-war reconstruction efforts.
High Powered Assistants: Women in Feminized Secretarial Positions at the League of Nations and the United Nations c. 1920–1975
Applying a history from below approach this article extends the history of international organizations. It seeks to broaden the definition of International Thought by including the contribution of subsidiary staff in the intellectual production of international organizations (IOs) with a special focus on women. This article maps the involvement of women in the standardization of bureaucratic practices in IOs secretariats. This approach aligns with the recent research on international organizations which views IOs as actors of International Thought and not merely its executors. Scholars have shown that the development of international bureaucracy throughout the twentieth century has contributed to a renewed examination of International Thought. This has directed the focus on IOs’ technical rather than political aspects. This transformation in turn increased the influence of its technical aspects alongside the political.
Book Reviews
by Georgios Steiris:
Alberto Bardi In Light of Bessarion’s Astronomical Manuscripts A Global Microhistory of Science
by Manjima Anjana:
Lorraine Daston Rivals: How Scientists Learned to Cooperate
by Louis Fagon:
Benoit Pelopidas (ed.) Nuclear France: New Questions New Sources New Findings
Debating Inoculation in Eighteenth-Century Europe
Smallpox (known as "variole" or "petite vérole" in French) spread relentlessly across Europe during the eighteenth century gaining an unprecedented and deadly momentum. While there was no cure for this highly infectious and often fatal disease those that recovered from it were immune to future infections. This phenomenon was the origin of a practice of inoculation whereby infectious material was introduced into the body to induce immunity. In Europe this practice was initially experimented with in England and it was subsequently adopted across the continent during the eighteenth century. Inoculation was however not without controversy—not least because the practice originated outside of Europe—and it became the subject of intense debate. This debate this volume argues extended beyond medical circles to include intellectuals and the broader public—a phenomenon driven by a growing periodical press. As books scientific treatises and plays crossed regional and national boundaries debates on inoculation must this volume shows be examined within a European transnational perspective thereby considering how ideas were shaped by adaptation translations and citation. Doing so this volume not only sheds new light on the history inoculation as a practice but also illustrates how cultural history can enrich history of medicine