Jörg Matthias Determann's Blog, page 3

Presentation at New Hires Orientation at VCUarts Qatar

Terima kasih banyak and thank you very much to Lolyta Poniman and her colleagues in our Department of Human Resources at Virginia Commonwealth University in Qatar for inviting me back to give the Academic Orientation as part of our New Hires Orientation today! Almost every year since 2016, I have been honored to meet and get to know our new colleagues on this occasion. Have you thought about becoming an employee of VCUarts Qatar yourself? Please check our careers page regularly: https://qatar.vcu.edu/about-vcu-arts-...

Review of Mary-Jane Rubenstein’s book Astrotopia

Thank you, धन्यवाद and gracias to Pallavi Das and Pablo F. Gómez for inviting me write a review of Mary-Jane Rubenstein’s book Astrotopia: The Dangerous Religion of the Corporate Space Race (University of Chicago Press). My piece appeared in Isis, a journal of the History of Science Society, volume 116, number 3, pages 617 to 618 (September 2025). Jeanne Vaz generously proofread my manuscript. Nassif Muhammed Ali kindly arranged to send me a copy of the issue, in which my review appeared. https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi...

Endorsement of The Speculative Route

Double congratulations to Merve Tabur and Sami Ahmad Khan on the completion of their edited volume The Speculative Route: Futures from South and Southwest Asia and North Africa (Routledge, 2025). It has been my great honor to provide an endorsement alongside Vandana Singh and Anil Menon. The Speculative Route is the latest title in the book series Studies in Global Genre Fiction edited by Bodhisattva Chattopadhyay and Taryne Jade Taylor. Pre-order it here: https://www.routledge.com/The-Specula...

Recording of Scientia webinar on YouTube

Thank you very much and آپ کا بہت بہت شکریہ for uploading a recording of my presentation on “Researching Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in Astronomy” to YouTube, Scientia! I am immensely grateful to Fouz Siddiqui for inviting me and to Saadeqa Khan for her support. It was a special honor to give this webinar to the Science Writing Internship Cohort 4. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fthk_...

Presentation at Science Fiction Research Association conference

All thanks and appreciation to Stefanie Dunning for accepting a proposal of mine for the conference of the Science Fiction Research Association (SFRA) at the University of Rochester! My presentation is entitled “Isaac Asimov and the Teaching of Science with Science Fiction.” I am honored to speak at “Panel 15 The Impact of Science Fiction in Genre, Teaching, and upon Textual Movements” on July 31, 2025, between 1:30 and 3pm. I am also excited to hear from my fellow panellists: Vicky Brewster, Xia Zijian and Ida Yoshinaga. Edward Larkin is serving as our chair. I further I thank Joshua Pearson for enabling me to join the SFRA and register for the conference. Hugh O’Connell and Jane L. Bryant provided me with important information about the event. https://sfra.org/conferences/sfra-202...

Interview for Things Visible and Invisible

Míle buíochas and a thousand thanks to Seán O’Quoi for interviewing me for Things Visible and Invisible (TVI). Our episode is entitled “Do MUSLIMS believe in AlLIENS? UFOs?” It premiered on YouTube on July 18, 2025. Joanne Suyat had reached out to me back in May and arranged the interview, which we recorded on Zoom. Her colleague Alfonso subsequently took over as my point of contact. Tancredi Foschini was our producer. TVI is a spin-off of the popular show Vetted. Both are produced in London by Soho Podcasts. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vl4BJ...

Webinar for Scientia Science Writing Internship Cohort 4

I am very grateful and میں بہت مشکور ہوں۔ to Fouz Siddiqui for inviting me back as a speaker to the Science Writing Internship webinar series of Scientia Pakistan. On Sunday, July 20, 2025, at 4pm Pakistan time, I will be honored to address the interns of cohort four on Google Meet. My lecture is entitled “Researching Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in Astronomy.” Join the webinar here: https://meet.google.com/unb-mkgc-gof

Meet VCU Authors talk hosted by Humanities Research Center

Thank you very much and mulțumesc foarte mult to Cristina Stanciu for inviting me to give a virtual talk in the Meet VCU Authors series! On September 22, 2025, at 12pm Eastern Time I will speak on Zoom about “One Planet, One Sky: Internationalism in Modern Astronomy.” I also thank Ellie Musgrave for planning this event together with Cristina and for sending me a poster. Cristina approached me after we met at the National/International Recognition Awards (NIRA) Reception at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond in December. The registration link for the Zoom session is on the website of the Humanities Research Center at VCU: https://humanitiescenter.vcu.edu/even...

Parviz Tarikhi reviews Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Astronomy in NTM

A world of gratitude (یک دنیا سپاس) to Parviz Tarikhi of Karaj, Iran for reviewing my book Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Astronomy (Springer) alongside Tomáš W. Pavlíček, Petra Hyklová and Martin Šolc’s volume Astronomers behind the Iron Curtain (MatfyzPress)! Parviz’s double review appeared in NTM Zeitschrift für Geschichte der Wissenschaften, Technik und Medizin 33, no. 2 (June 2025), 235–39. He writes in his conclusion: “Overall, I would recommend both books for academic, general, and professional readers.” Anja Sattelmacher generously sent me the cover of the issue in which the review was published. Springer Nature Link provides different access options to its contents: https://link.springer.com/article/10....

Chairing a panel at British Society for the History of Science Annual Conference

I would like to add to my expression of gratitude to Sam Robinson by thanking him for allowing me to chair a panel at the Annual Conference of the British Society for the History of Science (BSHS) at the University of Cambridge. Session “6G: Craftsmen, Scholars, Pirates and Chessmen” includes Po-Hung Liu of National Chin-Yi University of Technology, Jeffrey Kotyk of the Max Planck Institute for the History of Science, Büşra Dede of the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona and Majideh Qazizadeh of the University of Exeter. We will gather in Seminar Room 1 at the Department of History and Philosophy of Science on July 9, 2025, between 4 and 6pm. Many people have enabled my participation in this event. They include Patty Paine and Mary Amat of Virginia Commonwealth University in Qatar, Chester Pollocks and Dushan Rajith of Mannai Travel, and Jeanne Vaz. https://conference.bshs.org.uk/wp-con...