The Koyré Centre has a long tradition of research in the History of Science and Technology. The activities of the Centre’s researchers concern the “study and history of scholarly cultures”. They are grouped around the following themes: science in the public sphere; circulation as a space for producing knowledge (taking into account the different scales of circulation: urban, national, regional, European and global); corpuses and archives in the history of science; the environment, the climate and sustainable development; the actors, institutions and governance. These themes embrace and transcend many disciplines, including mathematics, physics, chemistry, medicine, biology, natural history and the humanities.
A dozen researchers and associate researchers from the Centre are concentrating their research on “Globalization, the environment and the governance of science: current problems, historical issues” and are associated with IFRIS.
The idea is to further our understanding of how knowledge is produced and applied in society, especially scientific knowledge and its potential for technical and political performation. This research thrust aims to investigate, among other things, the products that this knowledge puts into circulation (e.g. books, atlases, reports, norms, satellites, etc.). It studies the variety of spaces in which knowledge is constituted, and how different types of knowledge interact and are exchanged through people, technology, norms, systems, products, and commercial or regulatory practices. It also concentrates on the arrangements (agencements) and governance of nature, economics, politics and science.
This research rests on a number of surveys carried out in complementary fields. These include: the government, production and circulation of knowledge pertaining to the climate, space, “natural” space, the environment and biodiversity; the regulation of techno-products (from chemical to nuclear); North-South and South-South relations; institutional games (for instance that of the East-Indian Company in the past, or of the World Bank today); and so on.
The programme covers different time periods, from the 18th century to the present day. This deliberate choice constitutes a research strategy and a heuristic tool. A toing and froing between the past and the present and between countries of the North and the South systematically revolves around a particular issue – the notion of risk, for example, or disputes over technological trajectories.
For further information, please see the 2012-2013 Programme of the “Climatic Change and Biosphere: Expertise, Future and Policies” seminar.
Institutions to which it is affiliated: EHESS, MNH, CNRS
Website: www.koyre.cnrs.fr
Liste des membres : Armatte Michel , Kasperski Tatiana, Lamy Jerome, Vieille-Blanchard Elodie, Néron Adeline, Viard-Crétat Aurore, Bergeron Andree, Emanuel Bertrand, Bonneuil Christophe, Dahan Amy, Baya-Laffite Nicolas, Baudry Jerome, Briday Regis, Cirac Claveras Gemma, Dauguet Benoit, Remi Durand, Fenzi Marianna, Fulleringer Ludovic, Mahrane Yannick, Patinaux Leny, Pessis Celine, Jean-Baptiste Fressoz, Graber Frederic, Fabien Locher, Angeli - Aguiton Sara