Historians have studied extensively how sciences begin. But how do they end? Previous attention to the founding, disciplinisation, and professionalisation of individual sciences has provided robust frameworks in which to think about the birth and growth of scientific knowledge communities. Less attention has been directed at how those same communities decay, dissolve, or evolve beyond the contemporary boundaries of science. SciEnds is a research network cultivating case studies of the ends of sciences in order to motivate a new approach to thinking about the developmental trajectories of scientific disciplines, communities, institutions, and the ordering of knowledge. This working group explores specific cases of the ends of sciences as well as reflects on general methodological questions raised by scrutinizing the unmaking of scientific practices.

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Upcoming Meetings

Wednesday, February 5, 2025, 10:00 - 11:30 am EST

Reading:

Simon Schaffer, "Scientific Discoveries and the End of Natural Philosophy," Social Studies of Science 16, no. 3 (1986): 387–420.
 

Wednesday, March 5, 2025, 10:00 - 11:30 am EST

TBA

Wednesday, April 2, 2025, 10:00 - 11:30 am EDT

TBA

Wednesday, May 7, 2025, 10:00 - 11:30 am EDT

TBA

Past Meetings

Group Conveners

Alex Aylward

 

jmartin

Joseph Martin

Joseph Martin is Associate Professor of the History of Science and Technology at Durham University. He has published on the history of twentieth-century physical sciences and the philosophy of science and technology.

 

6 Members

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