Upcoming events
Annual lectures
The Michael King Memorial Lecture
The 27th International Congress of History of Science and Technology
The 27th International Congress of History of Science and Technology will be held at the University of Otago’s Dunedin campus, 29 June-5 July 2025.
Visit the ICHST website for more information
Honorary Associate Professor Hugh Richard Slotten, Chair
Slotten is the Chair of the Local Organising Committee for the 27th International Congress of History of Science and Technology. His areas of expertise include the history of science and technology, media and communication history, and science and technology studies. His most recent book explores the development of the first global satellite communication system: Beyond Sputnik and the Space Race: The Origins of Global Satellite Communications (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2022). It was awarded the 2022 Eugene M. Emme Astronautical Book Award.
Slotten has held appointments at Harvard University, Johns Hopkins University, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He was awarded the Charles A Lindbergh Chair in Aerospace History by the Smithsonian Institution’s National Air and Space Museum two different times (most recently for the 2022-23 academic year). He has also received grants and fellowships from the United States National Science Foundation, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of American History, the American Historical Association, the Huntington Library, the Spencer Foundation, the Library Company of Philadelphia, the New York University Abu Dhabi Institute, and the Dibner Foundation.
Slotten was the lead editor of Volume 8 of the Cambridge History of Science Series: Modern Science in National, Transnational, and Global Context (Cambridge University Press, 2020) and the editor-in-chief of the two-volume Oxford Encyclopedia of the History of American Science, Medicine, and Technology (Oxford University Press, 2014). His book – Patronage, Practice, and the Culture of American Science: Alexander Dallas Bache and the U.S. Coast Survey (Cambridge University Press, 1994) won an award from the Forum for the History of Science in America of the History of Science Society. Radio’s Hidden Voice: The Origins of Public Broadcasting in the United States (History of Communication Series, University of Illinois Press, 2009) won a book award from the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication.
Seminar Series
Upcoming seminars hosted by the History Programme
Latest news from History
23 Jun 2026
Award for research that resonates with students
An Otago academic has received an award which recognises outstanding research that resonates with the interests and conc...
10 Apr 2026
Science historian has lead role in international conference
An Otago academic is at the helm of an international conference for scholars of the history of science.
25 Mar 2026
Otago subjects among the best in the world
Four University of Otago – Ōtākou Whakaihu Waka subjects have been ranked in the top 50 globally.
10 Dec 2025
Otago announces 32 new professors
Twenty-six University of Otago - Ōtākou Whakaihu Waka academics are being promoted to the position of Professor, with a...
17 Sep 2025
Otago hosts exhibition of earliest Aotearoa photography
An illuminating exhibition showcasing rare photographs of mana whenua and early settlers is set to make its final stop o...
19 Aug 2025
The Humanities Crisis: What’s at Stake?
For many older Humanities’ scholars, there is a particular niche on our bookshelf (usually slightly dusty) that might lo...
28 Mar 2025
‘Caring, passionate and dedicated’ teachers awarded
Five of Otago’s academic staff have received Excellence in Teaching awards for being ‘caring, passionate and dedicated t...
13 Mar 2025
Otago success in QS World Rankings
The University of Otago – Ōtākou Whakaihu Waka is home to New Zealand’s highest ranked subject area in the latest QS Wor...
07 Nov 2024
Study of WWII Māori veterans receives Marsden funding
The 28th Māori Battalion suffered disproportionate casualties and critical injuries in World War II. Yet, we know little...
31 Oct 2024
University of Otago Research Grants for Te Kete Aronui – Division of Humanities
Congratulations to the six successful projects from Te Kete Aronui – Division of Humanities to receive 2025 University o...
23 May 2024
The legacy of a nuclear-free Pacific
Elspeth Hallett has been awarded a School of Arts Faletufuga Research Prize, recognising her work as a third-year studen...
21 May 2024
History in the making
After three years as Deputy Vice-Chancellor (External Engagement) Professor Tony Ballantyne is returning to his first lo...