Room 222
Matthias Schemmel studies the historical development of structures of knowledge connected to the exact sciences in their cognitive, material, and social dimensions, both from a long-term and a global perspective. The aim is to achieve an understanding of the place of scientific knowledge within human societies, as regards its epistemic status as well as its impact on society. In working toward this goal, he has pursued empirical, i.e., source-based, research in different areas marked by important knowledge transformations. These areas are the emergence of theoretical science in ancient societies; transformations within the medieval and early modern European knowledge systems; the transfer of knowledge between cultures, particularly China and the West; and the reorganization of the knowledge of physics, astronomy, and their neighboring disciplines in the twentieth century.
A particular focus of his research are external, or material, representations of knowledge such as manuscripts and the role they play in the transmission and transformation of knowledge. In this context he also works on various digital editions of manuscripts and hand written artifacts. Current research and teaching activities further pertain to the political dimension of science and the role of science in the Anthropocene.
Projects
Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative Project (CDLI)
Mathematical Practices in Early Modern India
Research Websites as Research Data
The Emergence and Expansion of Preclassical Mechanics
The Encounter of Two Systems of Knowledge in Seventeenth-Century China
The Origin of Theoretical Science in Ancient China
Weighing as an Early Global Innovation
Development of Mechanical Knowledge in China
Historical Epistemology of Space
Knowledge as a Fellow Traveler
Knowledge of Astronomy and the Invention of the Telescope: International Year of Astronomy 2009
Scholastic Elaborations of Ancient Mechanics
The Genesis of General Relativity (Four-Volume Edition)
The Use of Scholastic Tools in Early Modern Mechanics
Selected Publications
Feldhay, R., Renn, J., Schemmel, M., & Valleriani, M. (2018). An introduction. In R. Feldhay, J. Renn, M. Schemmel, & M. Valleriani (Eds.), Emergence and expansion of pre-classical mechanics (pp. IX-XIII). Dordrecht: Springer.
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Büttner, J., Renn, J., & Schemmel, M. (2018). The early history of weighing technology from the perspective of a theory of innovation. In R. Feldhay, J. Renn, M. Schemmel, & M. Valleriani (Eds.), Emergence and expansion of pre-classical…
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Renn, J., Damerow, P., Schemmel, M., Lehner, C., & Valleriani, M. (2018). Mental models as cognitive instruments in the transformation of knowledge. In R. Feldhay, J. Renn, M. Schemmel, & M. Valleriani (Eds.), Emergence and expansion of pre…
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Feldhay, R., Renn, J., Schemmel, M., & Valleriani, M. (Eds.). (2018). Emergence and expansion of pre-classical mechanics. Dordrecht: Springer.
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Events
Selected Talks & Teaching Activities
Seminar (with Senthil Babu, Sascha Freyberg, and Pietro D. Omodeo), Università Ca’ Foscari Venezia
Seminar, Humboldt University of Berlin
"Humanities on the Ground: Confronting the Anthropocene in Asia," Research Institute for Humanity and Nature, Kyoto
Conference, "The Epistemic Functions of Vision in Science," Università degli Studi di Bergamo
European Society for the History of Science Biennial Conference 2018, London
"Philosophy of Time: A View from the Past," University of Milan
Center for Logic, History and Philosophy of Science, Faculty of Philosophy, University of Bucharest
International Symposium on China and the World in the Global History of Science and Technology, Institute for the History of the Natural Sciences, CAS, Beijing