MISHA · Militant Science. European Physicists and the Emergence of Transnational Radical Science Movements
Horizon 2020 — Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions
- Duration
- 2022-01-01 → 2024-12-31
- EU contribution
- €251,003
- Participants
- 2
- Scheme
- MSCA-IF
Lines connect the coordinator with its partners.
Results in brief
Militant Science. European Physicists and the Emergence of Transnational Radical Science Movements
Drawing on largely unexplored archival sources, oral histories, and primary literature, MISHA studies the processes of emergence of transnational Radical Science Movements (from now onwards: RSMs) from the 1960s to the mid-1980s as forms of reflection on both the limits and the emancipatory potential of science. In particular, the research focuses primarily on the physics community (one of the most stressed in science and society relations) and transnational connections between the United States, Britain, France, and Italy. The project fills some important gaps in the existing critical literature on these issues: 1) MISHA provides an innovative historiographical reconstruction of the emergence and development of such RSMs (until now almost exclusively based on national case studies such as the UK or US instead of transnational connections); 2), it thoroughly examines some case studies that have been little studied despite their extreme relevance (such as the Italian case); and 3), it analyzes the theoretical-epistemological stances internal to these movements in order to understand their eventual political relevance (especially in the context of the neutrality/non-neutrality of scientific knowledge debate).
Data: CORDIS, © European Union
Project objective
MISHA’s research objective is to understand the transnational emergence and flourishing of radical science movements with a particular focus on the physics communities in Italy, France, United Kingdom, and the United States. I aim at elucidating the dynamic of the two-way transfer of knowledge and people between the US and Europe. The project consists of the following research actions: archival research (e.g., Niels Bohr Library & Archives, American Institute of Physics, Cambridge University Library, Wellcome Library, Archives de Jussieu, Sorbonne, Fondazione Lelio e Lisli Basso, University of Rome La Sapienza, Archivio della Società Italiana di Fisica); systematic analysis of written sources, (European and American journals, monographs, and translations of essays and articles); reconstruction of scientific networks from the examination of conferences proceedings, summer schools programs and lectures, and seminars, as well as programmatic documents; reconstruction of institutional and informal networks (political militancy, correspondences, internal reports); definition of the epistemological and political features of the debate on non-neutrality in science at transnational European level. On the methodological side, I will employ the most advanced conceptual tools of transnational history and political epistemology to provide an integrated narrative able to combine political, philosophical, and historical analysis.
Original text from CORDIS.
Participants
- UNIVERSITA DEGLI STUDI DI VERONA · VeronaCoordinatorItaly
- THE UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND FOUNDATIION INC · AdelphiUnited States
Links
Data: CORDIS, © European Union