Working Paper – “Magical History, A Lion’s Tail, and A Lock of Hair”

Last week, I was fortunate to be part of a truly magical gathering at the Smart Museum of the University of Chicago: a colloquium devoted to the theme of “Repurposing Magic.” It was an incredibly inspiring day, and I’m grateful to have had the opportunity to learn in such wonderful company. Here’s a prosed-out version of the 20-minute talk I gave at the colloquium, offered … Continue reading Working Paper – “Magical History, A Lion’s Tail, and A Lock of Hair”

Carla NappiApril 12, 2015May 29, 2021

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Working Papers now on the site!

Working Papers (WPs) are new to the site. These are drafts that I’ve pre-circulated in advance of a talk, or distillations of the main bits of a talk (that may not have been prepared in paper form at all) some time after I’ve delivered it. I decided to incorporate this into my website after realizing a few things: I tend to treat talks and lectures as … Continue reading Working Papers now on the site!

Carla NappiFebruary 8, 2015May 29, 20211 Comment

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Last Night An Historian Saved My Life: A Recent Talk at Berkeley

Last month, I had the pleasure of giving a talk at Berkeley comparing the art of the DJ and that of the historian, and considering an example of what might result from putting the comparison into practice for the history of Qing science. The Berkeley CSTMS have posted a video of the talk online, and you can find it at the link below. http://cstms.berkeley.edu/current-events/last-night-an-historian-saved-my-life-science-sampling-and-the-art-of-the-dj/ Continue reading Last Night An Historian Saved My Life: A Recent Talk at Berkeley

Carla NappiJanuary 10, 2014May 30, 2021

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KUNGGUR kanggar!: A landscape of Manchu onomatopoeias

Back in November, I was fortunate enough to join a panel of wonderful scholars, all of whom I deeply respect and admire, in the plenary session of the History of Science Society 2013 annual meeting in Boston. We were all talking, in different ways and using different media, about the importance of experimentation with the form of academic narratives about objects and the history of … Continue reading KUNGGUR kanggar!: A landscape of Manchu onomatopoeias

Carla NappiJanuary 7, 2014May 30, 2021

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Constellations, Camouflage, Broken Skulls, and Ectoplasm: A Fabulous Recent Conference at York University

The best conferences are beginnings rather than endings. They wake you up and poke your brain and make you laugh and suggest how you might turn that laughter into new ways of seeing and writing the world around you. This was one of those conferences. Even if you weren’t there with us in the flesh, take a moment to check out the program. All of … Continue reading Constellations, Camouflage, Broken Skulls, and Ectoplasm: A Fabulous Recent Conference at York University

Carla NappiMay 7, 2013May 30, 2021

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Teaching in the 2013-2014 Academic Year

Habibna (The Awkwardly Postured Cat Who Reads All The Books) says: it’s that time of year, again! I’ll be offering the following three courses during the coming academic year. I’m really looking forward to all of them, and you should feel free to be in touch via email if you have questions about any of them (especially if you are a UBC student interested in … Continue reading Teaching in the 2013-2014 Academic Year

Carla NappiApril 10, 2013May 30, 2021

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“Bodies in Motion” Workshop: 22-23 March 2013, University of British Columbia

“Bodies in Motion” will take place at the University of British Columbia (UBC) in Vancouver on 22-23 March 2013. The workshop uses a focused case (early modern science, with readings that emphasize translating the body in this context) to anchor a trans-disciplinary conversation and stimulate new directions for collaborative, interdisciplinary research. The workshop is generously funded by the Situating Science cluster of SSHRC, the History … Continue reading “Bodies in Motion” Workshop: 22-23 March 2013, University of British Columbia

Carla NappiMarch 13, 2013May 30, 2021

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UO Today interview at the University of Oregon: Me, with big hair, talking about things.

The UO Today program at the University of Oregon recently interviewed me about my work (past and present) while I was visiting Eugene to give a talk at the Clark Honors College. It was a lot of fun, and if you’re interested you can see it here. Continue reading UO Today interview at the University of Oregon: Me, with big hair, talking about things.

Carla NappiMarch 12, 2013May 30, 2021

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The Monkey And the Inkpot

The Monkey and the Inkpot: Natural History and its Transformations in Early Modern China (Harvard University Press, 2009) The Monkey and the Inkpot introduces natural history in sixteenth century China through the iconic Bencao gangmu (Systematic materia medica) of Li Shizhen (1518–1593). The encyclopedic Bencao gangmu is widely lauded as a classic embodiment of pre-modern Chinese medical thought. This first book-length study in English of Li’s text reveals a “cabinet of curiosities” of … Continue reading The Monkey And the Inkpot

Carla NappiFebruary 25, 2012May 30, 2021