Aims and Methods of Histories of the Sciences

Thursdays at 12noon, weeks 1–4 (4 one-hour seminars) in Seminar Room 2
Nick Jardine (leader)

These postgraduate seminars will consider aspects of the history, aims, methods and current problems of the history of science. The opening session will give an overview of the formation of history of science as a discipline and of the range of recent approaches. Subsequent sessions will discuss the pioneering work of Hélène Metzger on the purposes of history of science, the relations between history and philosophy of science, and uses of histories of the sciences by scientists.

• Aims and Methods of Histories of the Sciences on Moodle

Michaelmas Term 2026

8 October

Nick Jardine: Formation and transformations of history of science

This opening session will sketch the ways in which history of science became established as a discipline. There will then be an overview of some of the main approaches that have dominated the field over the past century: positivist narratives of scientific progress, social histories of the sciences, cultural histories, and global histories.

15 October

Cristina Chimisso and Nick Jardine: Hélène Metzger on the methods and aims of history of science

Can the historian understand past texts just as readers who lived at the time when the texts were written did? Should this be the historian's aim? Is history of science relevant to current philosophy and science? These are some of the questions that the historian of chemistry Hélène Metzger (Chatou, France, 1889 – Auschwitz, 1944) aimed to answer. This session will discuss her innovative historiography of science.

22 October

Hasok Chang and Matteo Vagelli: Philosophers' uses of history of science

This session will consider ways in which philosophers of science can profit from close study of historical episodes and developments in the sciences.

29 October

Nick Jardine: Scientists' uses of history

This session will consider the ways in which scientists may use the histories of their sciences for purposes of teaching, promotion of their disciplines, improvement of their methods, and defense of their views.