European Society for the History of Science



European societies or federations exist in a number of disciplines.
Such bodies reflect a growing awareness of the benefits that
international collaboration within Europe can bring.  The benefits have
been fully recognized within the International Council of Scientific
Unions, and for some time now one of ICSU’s priorities has been to
further the coordination of scholarly and scientific activity on the
European scale.

Despite recent progress, some fields still lack a European
organization.  The history of science is one of these.   A
recommendation in favour of the establishment of a European society
was advanced by the European Union in 1998, and now, five years on,
that recommendation has been implemented.

Following some months of discussion, the European Society for the
History of Science was founded in October 2003 at a meeting in Paris
attended by representatives from nine countries.  At the founding
General Assembly, held on 12 October 2003 in Sorbonne, in the
premises of the Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes, IVe section, the
following officers were elected:

 Robert Fox (Oxford)       President
 Eberhard Knobloch (Berlin)  Vice-president and President-elect
 Claude Debru (Paris)   Vice-president
 Erwin Neuenschwander (Zurich)   Treasurer
 Stéphanie Dupouy (Paris)   Secretary

The society is planning a number of initiatives aimed at promoting
contacts between scholars across Europe and advancing the
interests of the history of science in education.  Its website is being
developed as a means of coordinating and publicizing activities on the
European scale.  Another core initiative will be the holding of regular
European congresses.  The first of these, organized in association
with the Dutch national society Gewina and the University of
Maastricht, will take place in Maastricht from 4 to 6 November 2004.
Further details of this congress, which will Membership of the society
will be open both to individuals and to societies and other institutions
with appropriate aims.  Arrangements for the collection of the annual
subscription, currently fixed at 20 euros for individual members, 100
euros for institutional members, and a minimum of 200 euros for
supporting members,  will be announced in the society’s first
newsletter, to be published shortly in electronic form.

For further information about the society, please contact the secretary,
Stéphanie Dupouy, Département de Philosophie, Ecole normale
supérieure, 45 rue d’Ulm, 75005 Paris, France  (email:
[log in to unmask]).