Max Planck Institute for the History of Science

Elena Aronova

Research Scholar

Ph.D.

Residence: September 1, 2012 - August 31, 2015


Profile

My current research is divided between two projects. My first project, Studies of Science Before “Science Studies”: The Cold War and the Politics of Science in the U.S., U.K., and U.S.S.R., 1950s-1970s, which was my dissertation at the University of California at San Diego, investigates the history of Science Studies as it became a distinct area of expertise and academic inquiry during the Cold War. While revising my dissertation for publication as a book I am pursuing research on my second project, Big Science in the Archive, which examines the history of the World Data Centers in the U.S. and U.S.S.R., tracing it from their organization in 1957-8 during the International Geophysical Year (IGY) to their reorganization and activities following the end of the IGY.

Before completing my Ph.D. in History and Science Studies at the University of California at San Diego in 2012, I earned a Ph.D. in Biology/History of Science from the Russian Academy of Sciences in 2003.

Selected publications

Elena Aronova. "The Congress for Cultural Freedom, Minerva, and the Quest for Instituting “Science Studies” in the Age of Cold War. " Minerva 50 (3 2012)

Elena Aronova. "The Politics and Contexts of Soviet Science Studies (Naukovedenie): Soviet Philosophy of Science at the Crossroads. " Studies in East European Thought 63 (3 2011)

Elena Aronova, Karen Baker, Naomi Oreskes. "Big Science and Big Data in Biology: From the International Geophysical Year through the International Biological Program to the Long-Term Ecological Research Program, 1957-present. " Historical Studies in the Natural Sciences 40 (2 2010)

Elena Aronova. "In Search of the Soul in Science: Medical Ethics’ Appropriation of Philosophy of Science in the 1970s. " History and Philosophy of the Life Sciences 31 (2009)

Elena Aronova. Immunitet: teoriia, filosofiia, eksperiment: ocherki iz istorii immunologii XX veka [Immunity: Theory, Philosophy and Experiment. Essays on the History of the XXth century Immunology.]. Moskva: URSS Editorial, 2006.

Talks and presentations

2013
Knowledge of the Globe and Global Politics: "Global Network for environmental Monitoring" Project, 1960s-1970s, workshop Knowledge Production about Planet Earth and the Global Environment as Indicators of Social Change. University of Bern, CH, January 2013
2012
"UNESCO, the Congress for Cultural Freedom, and the Politics of History of Science / Science Studies in the Cold War,” History of Science Society annual meeting, San Diego, November 15-18, 2012
2012
“The Cold War Contexts and Politics of Science Studies / History of Science,” workshop "Towards a history of the history of science: 50 years since 'Structure',” Max Planck Institute for the History of Science, Berlin, October 17-20, 2012
2012
“The Politics of Science Studies in the Cold War: The Congress for Cultural Freedom and its Quest for ‘Liberal Studies of Science,’ 1960s-70s,” International Workshop “Politics and Context of Science Studies during the Cold War and Beyond,” Alfried Krupp Wissenschaftskolleg Greifswald, March 22-24, 2012 (Workshop organizer)
2012
“How ‘Big Science’ Changed the Perception of the Role of Science in Society: Discussions on the Phenomenon of Big Science in the USA and USSR in the 1960s and 1970s,” Conference “Engineers, Exact Scientists, and Political Processes: Global Perspectives,” Harvey Mudd College, March 2-3, 2012

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