ʻLa ciencia en la literaturaʼ, national prize of University Edition to best popular science book

The book by Xavier Duran, which already won the Crítica Serra d’Or prize in the category of research, has been awarded best popular science book by the Union de Editoriales Universitarias Españolas (UNE).
The book by Xavier Duran, which already won the Crítica Serra d’Or prize in the category of research, has been awarded best popular science book by the Union de Editoriales Universitarias Españolas (UNE).
Institutional
(09/07/2019)

La ciencia en la literatura. Un viaje por la historia de la ciencia vista por escritores de todos los tiempos (Editions and Publications of the UB, 2018), by the science journalist Xavier Duran, has been awarded best popular science book by the Union de Editoriales Universitarias Españolas (UNE), in the XXII edition of the National Prizes of University Edition.

The book by Xavier Duran, which already won the Crítica Serra d’Or prize in the category of research, has been awarded best popular science book by the Union de Editoriales Universitarias Españolas (UNE).
The book by Xavier Duran, which already won the Crítica Serra d’Or prize in the category of research, has been awarded best popular science book by the Union de Editoriales Universitarias Españolas (UNE).
Institutional
09/07/2019

La ciencia en la literatura. Un viaje por la historia de la ciencia vista por escritores de todos los tiempos (Editions and Publications of the UB, 2018), by the science journalist Xavier Duran, has been awarded best popular science book by the Union de Editoriales Universitarias Españolas (UNE), in the XXII edition of the National Prizes of University Edition.

 

The jury, formed by Ernesto Pérez Zúñiga, from Instituto Cervantes; Manuel Rodríguez Rivero, literary critic; Carmen Rodríguez Santos, from ABC Cultural; Nuria Azancot, from El Cultural in El Mundo; Iker Seisdedos, from El País, and Pampa García, from the Science News and Information Service (SINC), distinguished this work for “being a classic topic in studies on sociology of science but not much known among the audience”.


The book by Xavier Duran, which already won the Crítica Serra dʼOr prize in the category of research in the Catalan edition, presents a journey through the history of science through literature, going from Homer to current times, meeting many authors, including Shakespeare, Dickens, Tolstoy, Verne, Melville, Salvat-Papasseit, Foix, Kerouac and Mann.  


In this volume, which is part of the scientific dissemination collection Catàlisi, Xavier Duran gathers references to works from all genres, from narrative, poetry and theatre, as well as memoirs and essays. The author offers a wide range of literature, from its origins to current times, covering almost thirty centuries. Since the relationship between science and literature is not widely known -albeit being the focus of many studies, mainly in the Anglo-Saxon field- the author made an effort of contextualization in the scientific, social and cultural environments to explain the influence of science on a writer or a certain book.

 

Chronologically structured, the book does not leave a theme threat when itʼs convenient: for instance, when talking about the geocentric and heliocentric theories, or the evolution of medicine between the 15th and 18th centuries, it mentions Shakespeare, an author that used to make references to astronomy and medicine in his works.


The author goes over a wide range of English literature, but Duran also talks about authors and works from other western traditions, such as the Spanish and the Latin American ones, French, Italian, Portuguese, German and Russian ones. Regarding the Catalan literature, he mentions significant examples such as Tirant lo Blanc, Narcís Oller, Joan Salvat-Papasseit, J. V. Foix, Josep Pla and Llorenç Vilallonga.


Also, Xavier Duran notes that, although the editions of literary works usually include information -in the prologue, on footnotes, etc.- on the life of the authors and their environment to understand their works, it is not common to find an analysis of the scientific context, which could help understanding the reading. For instance, in order to understand Shelleyʼs verses we should know about the situation of science in the 18th century and early 19th century and the poetʼs passion for it; or in some works from the 19th century with medical references, it can be difficult to get an insight if we do not know about the scientific and medical framework that inspired some characters. This is why science helps to understand literature better, but it also works the other way round: many literary works help science historians with their research studies, and readers in general so they can think on the ethical problems that arouse with research.


In the conclusion, the author presents the relationship -and sometimes tension- between scientific and literary creation over the years. The book includes a wide bibliography on the consulted and referenced works.
 

The book belongs to the collection Catàlisi, created in 2007 under the direction of David Bueno, lecturer from the Department of Genetics, Microbiology and Statistics of the UB, to promote the access to scientific culture for a wide audience, experts and non-experts, since science affects all aspects of our lives, from daily life objects to the way we see and understand the world. Therefore, this collection fulfils an important function on the socialization of knowledge, because it provides readers with the research carried out in the university field. The latest published titles are Atles del mar, by several authors, La cara amable dels bacteris, by Anna Maria Solanas, Lʼembrió inconformista, by Jordi Garcia-Fernàndez and David Bueno, and Esport i salut, by Manuel Suárez.

Xavier Duran graduated in Chemical Sciences and holds a doctorate in Communication Sciences from the Autonomous University of Barcelona. He collaborated in many newspapers and journals. From 1999 to 2914, he directed the program El medi ambient in TV3 is now specialized editor in scientific issues in the information services of this network. He has won several essay literary awards -Joan Fuster, Josep Vallverdú and Joaquim Xirau-, narrative ones -Marià Vayreda- and dissemination -European Prize of General Study Scientific Dissemination. Author of more than thirty books, he has recently published Les histories que les paraules amaguen; Lʼartista en el laboratori. Pinzellades sobre art i ciència; Franquisme via satèl·lit. Sputnik, Apollo i guerra freda a la premsa de Barcelona; Molècules en acció. Del big bang als materials del futur; Per què les lleones no els prefereixen rossos (i seixanta curiositats científiques més), and 100 molècules amb què la química ha canviat (poc o molt) la història.