Ms Elizabeth Hunter

Profile

Elizabeth Hunter studies the reception of Greco-Roman mathematics and mechanics. Her dissertation, “Science as a European Identity: Early Modern Reception of Archimedes and the Fiction of Scientific Progress,” deconstructs the narrative of “the scientific revolution” by focusing on the Archimedean cultural heritage. The project evaluates the claim of both early modern actors and twentieth-century historians that the ancient mathematician and engineer was the catalyst for modern science by assessing his technical contributions and his role in the creation of the scientific community and culture. Through the figure of Archimedes, this project seeks to understand how a discipline creates a history of itself and reflects upon the desire of linking the present to classical Greece.