The mathematical sciences have a long and rich history, stretching back to the emergence of literacy and arguably earlier. Across many cultures of inquiry, including ancient Mesopotamia, Egypt, Greece, India, China, the Islamicate and early modern world, mathematical ideas were developed, refined, transmitted, and transformed in ways that continue to shape the discipline today. These traditions were recorded in a remarkable range of languages and textual forms, including clay tablets, manuscripts, commentaries, astronomical handbooks, pedagogical treatises, and early printed books.
This PhD project explores the history of mathematics through the close study of original source materials in a historical language. Focusing on a selected mathematical text or corpus, the candidate will produce a scholarly translation accompanied by technical commentary, mathematical analysis, and historical contextualisation. The project will investigate not only the mathematical content of the work itself, but also the broader intellectual, linguistic, and cultural environment in which it was composed, studied, and transmitted.
Particular attention may be given to the movement of mathematical knowledge across linguistic and cultural boundaries through translation, commentary traditions, trade, education, astronomy, or scholarly exchange. The project offers opportunities to engage with methodologies from the history of science, philology, manuscript studies, and mathematics, while contributing to a deeper understanding of mathematics as a global and culturally embedded human enterprise.
Possible source traditions include Sanskrit, Arabic, Persian, Greek, Latin, or other historical languages, depending on the background and interests of the candidate.
Supervisors
Primary Supervisor: Clemency Montelle
Key qualifications and skills
Mathematical background with fluency in a second language and an interest in the history and evolution of scientific ideas.
Does the project come with funding
No - Student must be self-funded
Final date for receiving applications
Ongoing
How to apply
Email the supervisor
Keywords
History of Mathematics, Mathematical Sciences, Ancient Mathematics, Cross-Cultural Knowledge, Translation Studies, Scientific Translation, Intellectual History, History of Science, Philology, Manuscript Studies
