In This Issue - Society for the History of Technology

SHOT Newsletter 41
July 2006
CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT
SHOT officers, the SHOT Executive Council, and the
SHOT Internationalization Committee have been
working to re-examine SHOT's International Scholars
program, with the aim of updating and clarifying its
guidelines and strengthening the program to support
SHOT's goals for international outreach. The
Executive Council of SHOT recommends the
following changes to SHOT's Constitution. Many
thanks to Karen Freeze, Arne Kaijser, Daryl Hafter,
Tom Zeller, Aristotle Tympas, Eden Medina, and
Terry Reynolds, who worked on this matter. We will
discuss and vote on these amendments at the SHOT
Business Meeting in Las Vegas scheduled for
Saturday, October 14, following the last afternoon
session and before the banquet. Please read the
proposed changes carefully and remember that if you
wish to consult the current SHOT Constitution, it is
available on our website at:
http://www.historyoftechnology.org
Proposed Constitutional changes to reflect SHOT’s
initiative to extend the membership base in order to
develop the field globally, especially in regions where
it is weak, or where scholars have less opportunity to
enter into discourse with their peers in the United
States and Western Europe. The main tools at our
disposal are (a) financial support for membership and
attendance at SHOT meetings; (b) encouraging our
members to actively recruit colleagues outside of the
U.S. and Western Europe.
ARTICLE III, SECTION 2:
Eliminate the current part reading: ” International
Scholars shall be selected in one of two ways. The
first procedure will involve selection by a Committee
on International Scholars, which shall choose up to
seven International Scholars each year from a list of
nominees and applicants. Individuals may be
nominated by any member of SHOT, or may
nominate themselves; notices describing this process
will appear in the newsletter and in Technology and
Culture. The actual selection shall be made in July.
The second selection procedure shall be the choice of
up to three additional International Scholars each year
by the president of the Society. The president shall
consult the list of nominees used by the Committee
on International Scholars, but shall not be required to
make selections solely from the list.”
Add a sub-section (c) to Article III, Section 1, with
the following wording: (c) "International Scholars
shall be selected and have privileges as covered in
Article X below."
ARTICLE IX, SECTION F: Replace current
wording with:
(f) The International Outreach Committee shall
consist of six members, including a chairperson, all
appointed by the President. Committee members shall
serve staggered three-year terms, two members
retiring and the same number being added each year.
The tasks of this committee are outlined in Article X.
ARTICLE X. Replace current wording with:
ARTICLE X. INTERNATIONAL OUTREACH
Section 1. The Society is international and welcomes
scholars from all nations as members. The task of the
International Outreach Committee is to recruit
scholars in parts of the world currently
underrepresented in SHOT membership, in
order to bring their perspectives into the Society’s
intellectual discourse.
Section 2. Each year the Society shall designate up to
four International Scholars for a two-year term. They
must reside and work in underrepresented countries at
the time of their selection. Graduate students, postdocs,
and visiting scholars who are living and
working in the United States or Western Europe are
not eligible to become International Scholars;