The Sciences in historical, philosophical and cultural contexts

The proposed DK-plus program combines historical, philosophical and cultural studies of the sciences in international and transnational context. Areas of concentration include studies of the emergence of a network of modern scientific research institutions and circulation of scientists, ideas and research practices in the late Habsburg Monarchy (1848-1918), continuity and change in the sciences in Austria and the territories of the former monarchy since 1918 and since 1945, and studies of transformations of the sciences themselves in these contexts. Additional foci for research in the program will be philosophical and cultural/media studies of the sciences in historical context, primarily in the twentieth century. The proposed program builds upon steps already taken and lessons learned in the Initiativkolleg entitled "The Sciences in Historical Context," which has been funded internally for three years by the University of Vienna since September 2006. A number of additional doctoral students and postdoctoral researchers have parti-cipated actively in ongoing discussions in the Kolleg, marking the beginnings of a dynamic, increasingly self-organizing interdisciplinary research cluster. The Initiativkolleg was conceived from the beginning as a first step toward establishing an interdisciplinary doctoral program in History, Philosophy and Cultural Studies of Science at the University of Vienna that will bring together the natural sciences and mathematics with the humanities in a common, focused curriculum. The proposed DK-plus program represents a significant further step in this direction. Central features of the program are: a structured curriculum including intensive conceptual and methods seminars and transferable skills training; interdisciplinary discussion and academic guidance in the weekly common Colloquium; joint supervision of dissertations carried out in this framework by a historian or philosopher and a natural scientist or mathematician, in so far as this is feasible.