Robert N. Proctor, a renowned historian of science and creator of the concept “agnotology” – which defines the social and sometimes deliberate production of ignorance – will visit Barcelona to participate in the Workshop “Ciencia e Ignorancia: agnotología e historia de la Ciencia”. The event is organized by the Institución Milá y Fontanals de Investigación en Humanidades of the CSIC.
Proctor will deliver the inaugural lecture, titled “The History of Ignorance”, on October 13th at 09:40 h. He will also present his latest book, Ignorance Unmasked: Essays in the New Science of Agnotology (2025).
A professor at Stanford University, Robert Proctor coined the term agnotology 20 years ago and, together with historian of science Londa Schiebinger, promoted its study. He is known for his role as an expert witness in trials against US tobacco companies, where he demonstrated how they actively promoted ignorance about the harmful effects of smoking.
The concept of agnotology has been adopted by numerous historians and has helped raise societal awareness about the political dimension of ignorance creation, as seen in the denial of climate change.
One of Robert Proctor's recent works is the development at Stanford University of a computer tool called INDRA. This tool provides open access to thousands of previously confidential litigation documents from tobacco, chemical, pharmaceutical, firearms, and fossil fuel companies, designed to facilitate historical research using language models and chatbots.
Among Proctor's books are The Nazi War on Cancer (1999) and Golden Holocaust: Origins of the Cigarette Catastrophe and the Case for Abolition (2012).
The workshop “Ciencia e Ignorancia: Agnotología e Historia de la Ciencia” is an international gathering organized by the History of Science Group of the Institución Milá y Fontanals de Investigación en Humanidades of the CSIC (IMF-CSIC), in Barcelona (Carrer Egipcíaques, 15). It will bring together researchers analyzing how knowledge systems generate, tolerate, or reproduce ignorance.
Following Proctor's lecture, the book Agnotologías: Saberes e Ignorancias en la España del Siglo XX (Tirant lo Blanch 2024) will be presented, followed by a panel discussion with the Stanford professor. The discussion will cover studies on ignorance and its utility in interpreting current social debates such as climate change denial.
In the afternoon, current research and case studies will be presented, including the cartography of Africa by Europeans in the 18th century, agnotology surrounding the Nakba, and historical ignorance in evolutionary theories.
Other cases to be discussed include strategic ignorance regarding the sexuality of people with disabilities in residences, nuclear activism, and occupational or environmental toxins, such as Ardystil syndrome.
The workshop can be followed via a link provided by the organization.
