The History and Future of Artificial Light Life, Cultures and Practices
From the first use of animal fats for illumination purposes to the large-scale lighting systems of global cities in the twenty-first century, artificial light has had profound effects on human experience, and continues to open a wide range of cultural and economic possibilities while also increasingly determining human behaviour. This seminar series will trace the development of artificial light from medieval times, through the advent of electric lighting, to questions surrounding the future of energy supply and its implications for uses of light which are often taken for granted, and on which advanced economies have come to depend. The series will explore the technical and social aspects of blackouts, the absence of light, which is the iconic concept in the field of (electrical) energy security, and which also formed a major part of social conditions in the great wars of the 20th-century.
The speakers include experts on the history of lighting technology and its use in society such as Brian Bowers (formally of the Science Museum), and Maureen Dillon (who has worked on the subject with the National Trust); leading
researchers from the social sciences, who are a key and distinctive part of Durham Energy Institute’s work (Jamie Cross, David Nye); and Cecilia Panti, a historian who can give a perspective on light and life in the middle ages. IAS Fellows this year who are relevant to this theme include Mark O’Malley (Professor of Electrical Engineering at University College Dublin), Jan Clarke (Professor in Durham’s School of Modern Languages and Cultures, studying the history of theatre lighting) and Dr Fokko Jan Dijksterhuis (University of Twente, studying the History of Optics) – those interested in this History and Future series may find their Fellow’s seminars of interest also (see
www.dur.ac.uk /ias/events/fellowsactivites/).
Further details about the series including speakers and dates appear at the end of the programme. For additional information contact Dr Chris Dent (
chris.dent@
durham.ac.uk).
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