Critical Perspectives on the Historiography of "Western Science"

Much work has been done in recent decades critiquing the traditional view of the rise of "Western science" from different methodological and disciplinary perspectives, perhaps only unified by a sensibility that the concept of "Western science" is problematic or inadequate despite being so central in the public discourse of science and its history. This working group addresses questions about traditionally received notions of "Western Science."

The working group is part of a project to produce an edited volume and online resources for use by students, teachers and non-specialists. Contributors will present drafts and receive feedback and critique from other participants as they craft their essays. The goal of this format is to enable authors to benefit from questions and issues motivating scholars in neighboring disciplines, to generate discussion between scholars, and to produce a volume in which the essays genuinely engage with each other.

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Upcoming Meetings

  • Tuesday, October 22, 2024 12:00 pm to 1:30 pm EDT

    TBA


  • Tuesday, November 26, 2024 12:00 pm to 1:30 pm EST

    TBA


  • Tuesday, December 24, 2024 12:00 pm to 1:30 pm EST

    TBA



Past Meetings

  • September 24, 2024

    TBA


  • August 27, 2024

    TBA


  • July 23, 2024

    TBA


  • June 24, 2024

    "Separating the West and Non-West in Discourses of Scientific Deficiency"
    Suzanne Moon, University of Oklahoma
    and
    "Surrounding the Adoption of 'Western Science': A Historiographical Reflection on Choe Han-Gi and His Kihak in South Korea"
    Jaehwan Hyun, Pusan National University, Busan
     


  • May 24, 2024

    Paul Keyser, Independent Scholar
    "Neither Triumph Nor Telos"
    and
    Abigail Nieves Delgado, Utrecht University, The Netherlands
    Juliana Gutiérrez Valderrama, Universidad de Los Andes, Colombia
    "Othering knowledge: The use of the prefix 'ethno' in science"


  • April 23, 2024

    Michael Gordin, Princeton University
    "Genghis Khan with a Nuclear Reactor: Three Centuries of 'Western Science' in Russia"
    Roy Wagner, ETH Zürich
    "Indian Mathematics Can’t Win"


  • March 22, 2024

     
    Elise Burton, University of Toronto
    James Poskett, University of Warwick
    Suman Seth, Cornell University

    "When Racial Science Became ‘Western’"


  • January 23, 2024

     
    Claire Fanger, Rice University

    "The changing shapes of science: Magic, meta-knowledge, and reality in medieval Christian thought"


Group Conveners

  • Babak Ashrafi

    Executive Director, Consortium for History of Science, Technology and Medicine

     

  • dhayton's picture

    Darin Hayton

    Darin Hayton is Associate Professor of History and Chair of the Department of History at Haverford College. His research concerns the history of science in Early Modern Europe, Central Europe, and the late Byzantine Empire.

     

126 Members