Rockefeller and the Internationalization of Mathematics Between the Two World Wars: Document and Studies for the Social History of Mathematics in the

ISBN-13: 9783764364687 / Angielski / Twarda / 2001 / 341 str.

R. Siegmund-Schultze; Reinhard Siegmund-Schultze

Opis

Philanthropic societies funded by the Rockefeller family were prominent in the social history of the twentieth century, for their involvement in medicine and applied science. This book provides the first detailed study of their relatively brief but nonetheless influential foray into the field of mathematics.

Recenzje

"...As mathematicians like George David Birkhoff and Oswald Veblen came increasingly to advise The Rockefeller Foundation's International Education Board (IEB) officials, mathematics began to benefit from Rockefeller philanthropy. Moreover, given the international focus of the Board, this philanthropy contributed in complex ways to the internationalization of science in general and of mathematics in particular. It is precisely this thorny historical problem of the Foundation's role in the internationalization of mathematics between the two World Wars that Reinhard Siegmund-Schultze confronts in his meticulously researched and abundantly illustrated book....

The book closes with a mere three-page "Epilogue" that could rather have been a true concluding chapter to a book that raises so many fascinating and complex issues. Still, Siegmund-Schultze has provided us with a wealth of data, a bounty of archival material, and much to think about as we continue to grapple with the social history of mathematics in the twentieth century."

-MAA Online

Spis treści

I Introduction: The “Internationalization” of Mathematics and the Interests Therein of Scientists and Philanthropists.- 1. The Notion of Internationalization as Used in this Book and the Unity of the International and National Dimensions of Science and Mathematics.- 2. The Political and Ideological Dimension of “Internationalization” and Tentative Remarks About the More General Notion of “Modernization”.- 3. “Patriotic Political Posturing” of German Scientists After World War I and the Exemplary Degree of Internationalization of German Science: An Example for Possible Conflicts Between Scientific and Political Interests.- 4. American Philanthropic Foundations and Their Interest in International Science and Mathematics Between the Two World Wars.- 5. The Intersection Between the Interests of Mathematicians and of the Foundations, and the Main Goals of this Book.- II The Political and Economic Conditions for International Scientific Collaboration After World War I and the Situation in Mathematics.- 1. Wickliffe Rose, the Beginnings of the International Education Board and the Central Role of the Fellowship Program.- 2. Rose’s Trip to Europe (1923/24) and the Political and Economic Conditions for International Scientific Collaboration (Especially “Migrations”) After World War I.- 3. Rose’s Trip to Europe, the Place of Physics and Mathematics in His Plan and the Peculiar Situation of German Mathematics.- 4. Emergency Help Following Rose’s Trip to Europe: Support for Mathematical Publications and the Exceptional Founding of a New Journal: The Journal of the London Mathematical Society.- 5. International Comparisons in Mathematics on the Eve of Birkhoff’s Trip to Europe.- 6. Birkhoff as the Leading American Mathematician, His Trip to Europe in 1926, and His Conclusions on the Problem of Mathematical Communication.- 7. Changed Assessments Following Birkhoff’s Trip to Europe of the Relative Standing of International Mathematical Centres.- 8. Summary and Conclusions.- III General Ideological and Political Positions Underlying the IEB’s Activities.- 1. Augustus Trowbridge’s Appointment as Head of the IEB Office in Paris (1925).- 2. The Relation Between “Saving” and “Developing” Scientific Cultures, and Between “Advanced” and “Backward” Countries.- 3. Anti-Semitism as an Example for Political Resentments.- 4. The “Excellence” and “Best Science” Policy of the IEB and Its Inherent Conflict With Support for “Backward Countries”. First Examples from the IEB Fellowship Program for Mathematicians.- 5. Limits for the Transfer to Europe of the American (Sociological) Ideal of Cooperative Work in the Sciences.- 6. Further American Ideals and Requirements of Communication (Decentralization, Oral Communication, Matching Funds, Large-Scale Grants).- 7. Summary and Conclusions.- IV The Practice of the Fellowship Programs of IEB (1923-1928) and RF (After 1928), and the Particular Situation of Mathematics.- Preliminary Remarks.- 1. Criteria for the Selection of Fellows, Problems of Meeting the Criteria, and Exceptions Made.- 2. Details and Examples.- 3. The Restricted Power of the Advisors: Counselling, Tactics, and Dependence on the Philanthropists’ Values.- 4. The Fellowship List, Some Related Statistics and First Conclusions, Especially With Respect to the Rise of American Mathematics.- 5. Reflections on and Impressions of the Cognitive Dimension of the Fellowship Programs.- 6. Selected Social Problems of (Scientific) Mathematical Communication in the 1920s and 1930s, Particularly in France, as Revealed in the Sources on Fellowships.- 7. The Rise of Soviet-Russian Mathematics and Problems of Response on the Part of Rockefeller Philanthropy: Especially Besicovitch, Lusin, and Kolmogorov.- 8. The Dominance of National (American) Interests in the IEB/RF Policies.- 9. Excursus: The Guggenheim Fellowship Program Since 1926.- 10. Summary and Conclusions.- V The Institute Projects in Europe 1926-1928: Göttingen, Paris, a Project Turned Down in Djursholm, and an Excursus on the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton.- 1. The IEB Erects a New Mathematics Institute in Göttingen.- 1.1. Trowbridge’s Visit to Göttingen in October 1925.- 1.2. The Visit of Trowbridge and Birkhoff to Göttingen (July 1926).- 1.3. The Fate of the Institute and Its Director Courant Under Nazi Rule.- 2. The Foundation of the Institut Henri Poincaré in Paris.- 2.1 The Beginnings of the Institute, the Initial Role of Mathematical Physics, and the Gradual Realization of Trowbridge’s Memo of May 1926.- 2.2. Introducing the Name `Henri Poincaré’ and Opening the Institute in November 1928.- 2.3. The Institut Henri PoincarÉ as an Element of Further Institutional Development in French Mathematics.- 2.4. The Institut Henri PoincarÉ Discloses its “International Potentialities” and Adds to the Cognitive Dimension in French Mathematics: The Role of Stochastics and the International Lecture Program in the 1930s.- 2.5. The Institut Henri PoincarÉ Released From Rockefeller Influence and Protection Until the Early Post-War Years.- 3. The Mathematical Institute in Djursholm (Sweden): A Case of Rockefeller Help Refused.- 4. Excursus: The Foundation of the School of Mathematics of the Institute for Advanced Study (Princeton) Around 1932 and Its Relation to the Rockefeller Projects.- 5. Summary and Conclusions.- VI The Emergency Program of the RF After 1933 and Changing Attitudes of the RF Vis-À-Vis Mathematics Before the War: Mathematics Caught Between New Scientific Orientations and Catastrophic Political Developments.- Introduction: The Peculiar Situation in Mathematics, Especially the Role of Warren Weaver.- 1. The Seizure of Power by the Nazis in Germany, Consequences for Mathematics, Reactions by Rockefeller Philanthropy, and the Impact on the Regular Program in Europe.- 2. The Rockefeller Emergency Programs and Mathematics.- 3. Support for Interdisciplinary Research and Bordering Subjects of Mathematics and Taking “Responsibility” for General European Values.- 4. Summary and Conclusions.- VII Epilogue.- Notes.- Appendices.- 1. Proposal by the Physicists of Göttingen for Support From the IEB 1924.- 2. A Memo by English Mathematician G.H.Hardy Asking for Support for a New Journal 1924.- 3. Nikolaj Lusin’s Application for a IEB Fellowship, March 27, 1926.- 4. Paul Montel (1944) on the Origin of Plans for the Institut Henri Poincare in May 1926.- 5. A Memorandum by Augustus Trowbridge (lEB) on a Meeting With ?mile Borel Concerning Plans for the Foundation of an Institute for Mathematics and Mathematical Physics in Paris (May 1926).- 6. Report by A. Trowbridge on His trip to Göttingen July 2 Through July 4, 1926.- 7. G.D. Birkhoffs Report to the IEB of September 1926 Concerning His Trip to Europe.- 8. Richard Courant’s Assessment of American Mathematics as of 1927.- 9. IEB-Fellow Heinz Hopf 1928 on the Exemplary Sports Facilities at American Universities.

O autorze

Hans Wußing (1927-2011), international bekannt als Mathematikhistoriker und Autor vieler Bücher zur Wissenschaftsgeschichte, wirkte seit 1957 am Karl-Sudhoff-Institut für Geschichte der Medizin und Naturwissenschaften der Universität Leipzig, dessen Direktor er von 1977-82 war. 1968 wurde er Professor für Geschichte der Mathematik und Naturwissenschaften. 1993 wurde er mit dem Kenneth O. May Prize for History of Mathematics ausgezeichnet. Dr. sc. Reinhard Siegmund-Schultze ist derzeit Privatdozent für Geschichte an der Humboldt-Universität Berlin.