How to make the peripheral \"mainstream\": recent developments in the historiography of science

Over the last few years, studies on the history of science in parts of the world that had long been regarded as having played no significant part in the historical development of science have flourished. At the same time those who have studied the history of science “elsewhere” have engaged in historiographical reflection to an increased degree. This reflection has been nourished by research pertaining specifically to the history of science, but also by critiques of eurocentrism in the social sciences and in the humanities (post-colonial studies, global history, criticism of “orientalism”). Based on experience of organising a number of workshops on related themes, we now propose to open a discussion on the present developing state of our field.

We would like each participant in the workshop to present the state of his or her own research field or some key moments of the historiography. Alternatively, he or she might discuss aspects of his or her own recent research that can help to bring out points of convergence, paths that have been opened and that can be further explored, and also obstacles that have been encountered. We hope that we can work collectively on articulating proposals that should contribute to a faster integration of our work and of our research questions into what is perceived as the “mainstream” history of science. For we are convinced that our work should contribute to challenging the traditional dichotomy between “the West and the rest”—a dichotomy devoid of justification— as well as to advancing a reflection on “local and global”, which is relevant to all in our profession.

The conference will open with a proposal for approaching the history of science on the global scale. The rest of the first day will be devoted to confronting studies that aim at locating science and tracing its circulation to studies that apply the same approach to the historiography.

During the second day, a session will be devoted to mathematics, presenting both the ways in which politics has shaped the historiography and proposals for renewing this historiography; another session will focus on the processes of construction of “the West” as central to modern science, and to the readings of texts stemming from other scientific traditions that have participated in these processes. The last day will be devoted to new historiographical proposals, on the one hand in the field of “Science and empires”, on the other hand in studies devoted to texts that traditional historiography has labelled as pertaining to “oriental sciences”.

Comité d’organisation

Catherine Jami, Directrice de recherche au CNRS, responsable du colloque
Florence Bretelle-Establet, Chargée de recherche au CNRS
Karine Chemla, Directrice de recherche au CNRS
Pascal Crozet, Directeur de recherche au CNRS
Guillaume Lachenal, Maître de conférence, Université de Paris-Diderot
Patrick Petitjean, Chargé de recherche au CNRS