BEGIN:VCALENDAR
VERSION:2.0
PRODID:-//Talks.cam//talks.cam.ac.uk//
X-WR-CALNAME:Talks.cam
BEGIN:VEVENT
SUMMARY:Jane Squire's early modern adventures: 'I see not why I should con
 fine myself to needles\, cards\, and dice' - Alexi Baker (CRASSH and Depar
 tment of History and Philosophy of Science)
DTSTART:20141201T130000Z
DTEND:20141201T141500Z
UID:TALK54713@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Margaret Carlyle
DESCRIPTION:The remarkable life of Jane Squire (1686–1743) sheds light o
 n a range of early modern projects – including maritime endeavours from 
 early diving and salvage to the search for the longitude\, and the develop
 ment of universal systems of language and geography. Her experiences as an
  outspoken participant in mathematical pursuits also reveal how gender cou
 ld both help and hinder in such traditionally masculine activities\, and h
 ow marginalised religious faiths could affect participation in British sci
 ence and mathematics. After spending years in debtors' prison in London du
 e to large investments in marine salvage (and her unapologetic Catholicism
 )\, Squire became the only woman to openly pursue the British longitude re
 wards established in 1714. Her religiously-motivated scheme\, involving a 
 new 'universal' language and means of representing terrestrial and celesti
 al geography\, sheds much light on the early 18th-century search for and B
 oard of Longitude. It is today the single most common longitude treatise i
 n collections worldwide\, and drew attention at the time from learned and 
 influential individuals\, ranging from the bluestockings to the Pope.
LOCATION:Seminar Room 2\, Department of History and Philosophy of Science
END:VEVENT
END:VCALENDAR