Welcome to the website of the Division of History of Science and Technology of the International Union of History and Philosophy of Science and Technology
Please note that the new website of the DHST will be fully operational within July 2017
This site is organized as an introduction to the Division and to its activities, but also as a general introduction to the field of History of Science.
The IUHPST is one of 26 scientific unions belonging to the International Council for Science (ICSU). As the world’s leading non-governmental organization in the field of science, ICSU promotes congresses, publications, and other initiatives designed to facilitate international exchanges and understanding. The International Union of History and Philosophy of Science (IUHPS) joined the ICSU family in 1947, and the history of science congresses that have taken place since that date have been held under the ICSU umbrella. The Union added “Technology” to the scope of its of interests, changing its name to International Union of History and Philosophy of Science and Technology in 2013.
The IUHPST is itself composed of two divisions: the DHST and the DLMPS (Division of Logic, Methodology, and Philosophy of Science). Each division organizes its own international congress once every four years.
Financial support for the DHST comes from the subscriptions of the 49 national committees that adhere to the division. Its scholarly work is conducted mainly through its 15 scientific commissions, 5 inter-union commissions, and 3 independent scientific sections.
With such a structure, the quality of the DHST’s work is largely determined by the vigor of its commissions and sections, and inevitably the profile of activity over the years has been variable. But, aided by the exceedingly modest support that DHST has been able to give, several commissions and sections have achieved striking results, in the form of meetings, newsletters, and scholarly publications.