Shana Worthen

History of Medieval and Early Modern Technology

Current Projects
Teaching at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. (History of Technology, Renaissance History, History of Civilization I)
Teaching at Canterbury Christ Church University (Interpreting Media, Research Methods, Introduction to Cultural Studies)
Writing an article on the historiography of tools in the Middle Ages.
Writing an article on the roles of stew in modern spectulative literature.
Writing an article on the organization of Hugh of St. Victor's mechanical arts.
Working on a translation and edition of an early fifteenth-century history of invention.
Writing book reviews.

I earned my PhD from the University of Toronto. My dissertation is entitled "The Memory of Medieval Inventions, 1200-1600: Windmills, Spectacles, Mechanical Clocks, and Sandglasses".

Publications include....

"The Influence of Lynn White, Jr.'s Medieval Technology and Social Change". from History Compass (June 2009).

"On Mills and Meaning" in Wind & Water in the Middle Ages: Fluid Technologies from Antiquity to the Renaissance. Steven A. Walton, ed. Penn State Medieval Series, 18. (Tempe, AZ: ACMRS, 2006).

See resume for a full list of publications.

Forthcoming Conferences and Talks of Personal Interest

Society for the History of Medieval Technology and Science Meeting
"Archimedes Redivivus": a talk by Denis Simms.
Museum of the History of Science, Oxford. UK. December 12, 2009.

Society for the History of Medieval Technology and Science Meeting
"The Octagon Tower and Lantern at Ely Cathedral": a talk by Michael White. Author of "A Promise of Beauty - The Octagon at Ely Cathedral"
Imperial College, London. UK. March 13, 2010.

Renaissance Society of America Conference
Venice. Italy. April 8-10, 2010.

British Society for Literature and Science (BSLS)
Newcastle-upon-Tyne, UK. April 8-10, 2010.

The 45th International Congress on Medieval Studies
Kalamazoo, MI. USA. May 13-16, 2010.

Oxford Symposium on Food and Cookery
Oxford. UK. July 9-11, 2010.

Society for the History of Medieval Technology and Science Meeting
One day symposium on Medieval Theories of Light. The Society's AGM.
Museum of the History of Science, Oxford. UK. June 12, 2010.

International Medieval Congress
Leeds. UK. July 12-15, 2010.

British Society for the History of Science Annual Conference
University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen. UK. July 22-25, 2010.

Society for the History of Technology (SHOT) Annual Conference
Tacoma, Washington. USA. September 30 - October 3, 2010.

History of Science Society (HSS) Annual Conference
Montreal, Quebec. Canada. November 4-7, 2009.

Other notes....

Historian and author Gill Polack recently published a short summary of my ongoing Stew Project.

My lyrics for "Is it a clock?" won one of two runner-up prizes in the 2009 British Society for the History of Science song contest.