The Second International Workshop on Lysenkoism

Cuny Bronx Community College, Bronx NY

Investigators

Abstract

Introduction This award is for an International Workshop on Lysenkoism that will be held 21-23 June 2012 at the University of Vienna. The workshop will bring together scientists and historians from around the world to present their research on one of the most important controversies in the history of Twentieth Century biology, the Lysenko Affair: In 1948 the Soviet agronomist T.D. Lysenko received the support of Joseph Stalin and the Central Committee of the Communist Party to ban genetics in the Soviet Union, an edict soon enforced throughout the Communist Bloc. Intellectual Merit The workshop will contribute to ongoing research in the fields of history and philosophy of science, environmental history, and the Cold War. It will bring together scholars at every level and across disciplines and strengthen relationships with scholars working in related areas of research. Workshop participants will address a variety of pertinent topics such as the impact and reaction to Lysenkoism in various international contexts, the role of Darwinism and Lamarckism in the Lysenko controversy, and the relationship between Lysenkoism and other topics in the history of Cold War science, the history of biology, and the histories of other scientific disciplines. Potential Broader Impacts The workshop will be part of a series of activities inaugurating the University of Vienna's graduate program, titled "The Sciences in Historical, Philosophical and Cultural Context." Partnering with a European university will significantly expand the scope of research and foster international ties in the field. The results of the workshop are to be published.