The Program in History of Science at Princeton University trains students to analyze science, medicine, and technology in historical and cultural context. We are a community of scholars including roughly a dozen core and affiliated faculty members and about twenty graduate students, as well as undergraduate concentrators and visiting fellows. In addition to courses for all levels of students, the program organizes annual workshops, a colloquium series, and a convivial weekly gathering on Monday afternoons to discuss research in progress. This Program Seminar forms the heart of our community.
Academics
Broad Disciplinary Connections
Antiquities of Mexico: comprising fac-similes of ancient Mexican paintings and hieroglyphics, preserved in the Royal Libraries of Paris, Berlin, and Dresden; in the Imperial Library of Vienna; in the Vatican Library; in the Borgian Museum at Rome; in the Library of the Institute at Bologna; and in the Bodleian Library at Oxford. Together with the Monuments of New Spain, by M. Dupaix: with their respective scales of measurement and accompanying descriptions. The whole illustrated by many valuable inedited manuscripts / by Lord Kingsborough; the drawings, on stone, by A. Aglio. Wellcome Collection.
Source: Wellcome Collection.
Members of our group maintain vibrant intellectual connections with a number of campus communities, including (but not limited to):
- Philosophy
- Public policy
- The Interdisciplinary Doctoral Program in the Humanities
- Gender and sexuality studies
- Comparative literature
- Digital humanities
Science in Context
History of Science at Princeton remains rooted in our tradition of analyzing the technical and conceptual dimensions of scientific knowledge, whether it is chemistry, psychoanalysis, or evolutionary theory. At the same time, students are encouraged to consider scientific ideas and practices in the widest possible context.
Diverse Research Interests
The research interests of the active faculty range from Memphis to Moscow, Berlin to Beijing, and include, for example, medieval alchemy, cultural and legal battles over scientific claims, and the development of twentieth-century biomedicine. Through this diversity runs a strong thread of consensus that the best current history of science demands an expansive, integrated approach, one that never loses sight of the global dynamics of science, medicine, and technology.
We invite you to browse our faculty and graduate student pages for the most recent accounts of our research and teaching activities.
Remembering Michael S. Mahoney
Princeton University historian of science and devoted faculty member
Photo credit: "L0020862" (Aztec zodiac man) by Wellcome Library, London is licensed under CC by 4.0. Image has been cropped.