Reviel Netz (Stanford), "On Writing a New History of Greek Mathematics"

T.L. Heath published his "History of Greek Mathematics" in 1921. Since, none has been written to replace it. Prof. Netz hopes to publish his new History of Greek Mathematics in 2021. In this talk, Prof. Netz will talk about his manuscript and explain why it is needed. The talk will briefly describe the shape of the history of Greek mathematics and concentrate on the challenges of writing it. It is a fraught subject, emblematic of the problem of discussing "The Greek Miracle". What do we do, as classicists, if we wish to avoid the triumphalist Eurocentrism of past scholarship - but do not wish to deny the objective exceptionalism of the Greeks? Indeed, Netz argues that Greek mathematics is crucial to the discipline of Classics - the absence of a new History of Greek Mathematics, for so long, being the scandal of a century.

The talk will begin at 12:30 pm, with a light lunch starting at 12:15 pm.