Overview

For a long time, World War I has been shortchanged by the historiography of science. Until recently, World War II was usually considered as the defining event for the formation of the modern relationship between science and society. In this context, the effects of the First World War, by contrast, were often limited to the massive deaths of promising young scientists. By focusing on a few key places (Paris, Cambridge, Rome, Chicago, and others), the present book gathers studies representing a broad spectrum of positions adopted by mathematicians about the conflict, from militant pacifism to military, scientific, or ideological mobilization. The use of mathematics for war is thoroughly examined. This book suggests a new vision of the long-term influence of World War I on mathematics and mathematicians. Continuities and discontinuities in the structure and organization of the mathematical sciences are discussed, as well as their images in various milieux. Topics of research and the values with which they were defended are scrutinized. This book, in particular, proposes a more in-depth evaluation of the issue of modernity and modernization in mathematics. The issue of scientific international relations after the war is revisited by a close look at the situation in a few Allied countries (France, Britain, Italy, and the USA). The historiography has emphasized the place of Germany as the leading mathematical country before WWI and the absurdity of its postwar ostracism by the Allies. The studies presented here help explain how dramatically different prewar situations, prolonged interaction during the war, and new international postwar organizations led to attempts at redrafting models for mathematical developments.

Full Product Details

Author:   David Aubin ,  Catherine Goldstein
Publisher:   American Mathematical Society
Imprint:   American Mathematical Society
Volume:   42
Weight:   0.878kg
ISBN:  

9781470414696

ISBN 10:   1470414694
Pages:   391
Publication Date:   30 November 2014
Audience:   College/higher education ,  Postgraduate, Research & Scholarly
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   In Print  
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Table of Contents

Placing World War I in the history of mathematics by D. Aubin and C. Goldstein Starting Up: Cambridge mathematicians' responses to the First World War by J. Barrow-Green The total war of Paris mathematicians by D. Aubin, H. Gispert, and C. Goldstein Joining In: Italian mathematicians and the First World War: Intellectual debates and institutional innovations by P. Nastasi and R. Tazzioli A mobilized community: Mathematicians in the United States during the First World War by T. Archibald, D. Dumbaugh, and D. Kent Moving On: Debating the place of mathematics at the Ecole polytechnique around World War I by J.-L. Chabert and C. Gilain """"I'm just a mathematician"""": Why and how mathematicians collaborated with military ballisticians at Gavre by D. Aubin Crossing Through: The Moravian crossroad: Mathematics and mathematicians in Brno between German traditions and Czech hopes by L. Mazliak and P. Sisma Why aerodynamics failed to take off in Nancy: An unexpected casualty of World War I by L. Rollet and P. Nabonnand Index

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Author Information

David Aubin, Sorbonne Universites, universite Pierre et Marie Curie, Institut de mathematiques de Jussieu-Paris Rive Gauche, France Catherine Goldstein, CNRS, Institut de mathematiques de Jussieu-Paris Rive Gauche, France

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