Shells and Pebbles

Looking for some fun and short reads for over the holiday? Why not follow @shellsandpebbles.bsky.social on Bluesky, our long-running blog on interesting finds in the history of science!

Shells and Pebbles Summer Travel Tips “It takes an endless amount of history to make even a little tradition.” – Henry James As this academic year comes to a close, our team of editors wanted to cultivate a tradition started last…

Whether you are going to São Paulo, New York, Manila, or Utrecht for the holidays, Shells and Pebbles has you covered! We have some wonderful destinations for you in our Staff Summer Travel Tips. Read it on the blog: www.shellsandpebbles.com/2025/06/23/s...

‘Knowledge gathered in a colonial context is transferred to students without regard to its history’ Elian Schure is a PhD candidate at Utrecht University (UU). She is currently working on her research on human categorization in biological research. During her master’s degree in History and Philos…

What do you discover when studying the colonial past of your faculty? Yavanne van Tiggelen interviewed Elian Schure about her experiences researching Utrecht University's Faculty of Science. Read all about it on the blog in English or Dutch: www.shellsandpebbles.com/2025/06/09/k...

Is writing context-laden intellectual histories possible? This essay compares two relatively recent works of intellectual history centred on the 18th century, both with an ambitious scope, and both written by established historians of science and medicine…

And today, you can immediately enjoy our newest post on intellectual histories! Chiara Lacroix shows us the challenges of context by comparing two intellectual histories. Go read it on the blog: www.shellsandpebbles.com/2025/05/26/i...

Welcome to the new Shells and Pebbles Bluesky!
A special shout-out to the two people who guessed the song in the newsletter correctly and with only one minute between them: Abel Streefland and Rob van Gent! Congratulations!