DATE: December 10, 2018

TIME: 4:30 pm – 6:00 pm(UTC+08:00)

VENUE:Lecture Hall, G/F, May Hall, The University of Hong Kong

SPEAKER: Professor Gabriela Soto Laveaga

ABSTRACT: While we often speak about scientific innovation in the so-called global periphery, what exactly does that look like in Latin America, specifically in Mexico? In this talk I examine case studies that allow us to rethink the role that Mexico has played in redefining history of science and medicine. The focus on Mexico challenges us to ponder why narratives of innovation are not often attached to this space. In general this talk will examine how historical narratives often exclude, downplay, or shift the focus away from this region’s global contributions. Specifically it will examine three examples — health, hunger, and hormones — and explore Mexico’s global impact in each area. For instance, the Green Revolution was launched using hybrid seeds developed in northern Mexico under the auspices of the Rockefeller Foundation and the Mexican government; in the 1950s Mexico was the globe’s leading producer of synthetic steroid hormones and, finally, in the late twentieth century Mexico created a healthcare model that was later exported to several nations. Each case will be examined as a critical lens to explain how we tell stories in the history of science.