Parallel Session 1:
Wednesday 7 June, 11:00 - 13:00
Grupperom 4, Georg Sverdrups hus
Format
Panel discussion with short introductions and exhibition visit
Panel participants
Jon Røyne Kyllingstad, associate professor in the history of science, Museum for University History (UiO) and leader of Historicizing intelligence.
Håkon Aamot Caspersen, postdoctoral researcher, Museum for University History (UiO)
Anne Vaalund, curator/historian Museum for University History (UiO)
Ageliki Lefkaditou, researcher, Institute of Health and Society (UiO)
About the Exhibition
The recently opened exhibition Inside the box? Over 100 years of measuring intelligence (2023) shows for the first time a selection of historical psychometric tests from the Department of Education at the University of Oslo. Such tests have been used as a diagnostic tool in the healthcare system, in forensic psychiatric assessments, in medical and psychological research as well as in the military, and the education system. Their long history connects them to debates over the role of heredity and environment, the politics of segregation and integration, and policies related to sorting and accommodation. These tests are at once products of science and commerce. They have borrowed elements from one another and have been revised numerous times. They have migrated between countries and become adapted to new local circumstances. Their movements are filled with instances of disruption as the tests historically have become tools to answer assumed population crises related to, for example, demographic changes. Tests such as these are used to bring about scientific, technological, or even political change, and they are instruments for exercising both control and care. Similar to patching devices, the tests mitigate disruption while legitimizing and repairing social order.
The exhibition is based on the research project “Historicizing intelligence” which explores the long history of IQ-testing and “intelligence” in Norway. But neither the research project, nor the exhibition would have been possible without historical sources. Such historical sources are often in a state of continuous crisis. Although universities often recognize how material heritage can be an indispensable resource for research, and an opportunity for institutions and disciplinary communities to reflect on their history, practices and social role, these material traces live precarious lives between disruption (or even destruction) and repair.