Around Brill and Noether’s Report on Algebraic Functions

12-16 December, 2022
Laboratoire Paul-Painlevé, Université de Lille, Lille

About the meeting

The group gathered during this workshop has started, two years ago, to work on an English translation of a report that Alexander Brill & Max Noether published in 1894 under the title Die Entwicklung der Theorie der algebraischen Functionen in älterer und neuerer Zeit . This report covers the history of algebraic functions as seen by the authors, notably in the 19th century, offering a remarkably broad historical approach to the topic. This book is still challenging from a mathematical viewpoint, and it remains of interest for present-day mathematicians. In addition, this work is an important document for historians and philosophers of mathematics, especially for those interested in 19th century geometry and algebra. More importantly, the report illustrates how, in the 19th century, it was relatively common for mathematicians to carry out research in the history of mathematics. It thus constitutes an emblematic document for historians and philosophers of mathematics who are trying to come to grips with the way history of mathematics was practiced in the 19th century. Indeed, one of the issues at stake in this report is how the authors' own mathematical production stricto sensu meshed with their historical researches.

The primary aim of this workshop is to pursue this collective effort towards a comprehensive translation and commentary of this report, as we work towards making the text of the report available to mathematicians as well as to historians and philosophers of mathematics. Due to it having both mathematical and historical facets, this project gathers an interdisciplinary team consisting of mathematicians, historians, and philosophers. For this reason, the workshop will also include a range of courses on modern mathematics (especially algebraic geometry) and on historiographical practices to the members of this group.

Organizers

Funding