CfP: Mathematics and Its Historiography in the Long Twentieth Century: Circulations and Interactions
Mathematics and Its Historiography in the Long Twentieth Century: Circulations and Interactions
Workshop at the Bergische Universität Wuppertal, Germany, March 13-15, 2024
Mathematicians have long maintained a unique relationship to their past. The libraries of most mathematical departments, unlike those of their counterparts in, say, physics or biology, continue to harbor copies of sources from ancient or early modern times; sources that still hold a place of honor as common sources of inspiration and learning. Examples of this abound: André Weil, for instance, famously recounted in his autobiography Souvenirs d’apprentissage (1991) how meditating on Fermat’s texts and methods led him to a deeper understanding of Diophantine equations and thus to one of the central insights of his dissertation. A century prior, the Danish geometer Hieronymous Zeuthen had also jointly pursued mathematical research and historical investigations, whilst expounding the virtues of the latter as a tool for developing mathematical understanding of a given topic in its own right–within students and scholars alike.
As recent scholarship has abundantly shown, mathematicians’ interest in their past has taken many forms, and has been directed towards different goals, far beyond that of a repository of inspiring examples. The historiography of mathematics, however, took new and distinct forms as the history of science grew into a distinct, professional discipline of its own, from the end of the 19th century onward. In some cases–for instance the Bourbaki group–detours via historical investigations were borne out of a desire to improve on the knowledge that mathematical research could impart. In most cases, however, the development of historical research programs was partially autonomous from mathematical considerations.
The disciplinarization of the history of mathematics was a multifaceted development, and our understanding of this process–as well as of its impact on the development of mathematics itself–can and should be improved. New historical endeavors were influenced by various disciplinary (beyond history itself, one thinks for instance of philosophy and sociology), political and methodological considerations. Building on recent historiography and two previous conferences held at the University of Wuppertal (2013: Historiography of mathematics in the 19th and 20th centuries, 2016: Before Montucla: Historiography of Science in the Early Modern Era), this conference will focus on the extraordinary variety of movements, schools and methods that developed during the long 20th century.
Themes of interest include–but are not restricted to–the use of historical arguments during mathematical controversies, debates surrounding the edition of collected works, the development of historical traditions during the interwar period and in the aftermath of WWII, the self-historicization of modern mathematical research, as well as the effect of 20th century archival or archaeological discoveries on classical historical narratives.
The workshop aims at promoting interdisciplinary collaboration and therefore proposals contributing to any aspect of the theme discussed above are welcome. Special consideration will be given to proposals from young scholars. The language of the workshop will be English. Submissions must include a title, an abstract (1–2 pages) of a 30-minute presentation, and a short CV. Submissions should be sent to Nicolas Michel no later than December 20th, 2023. The organizers look forward to your participation and would also be grateful if you could inform others, especially young scholars, about the workshop and this call for papers.
The workshop is being organized by the research group History of Mathematics at Wuppertal and will take place at the Bergische Universität Wuppertal from March 13 to 15 (Glanzstoffhaus, Kasinostrasse 19-21, Wuppertal). We will cover the accommodation costs in Wuppertal, though participants are expected to cover their travel costs.
Organizers: Ralf Krömer, Nicolas Michel, Thomas Morel, Volker Remmert