Professor Richard Staley

  • College positions:
    Fellow in History
    Director of Studies in History and Philosophy of Science
    Undergraduate Tutor
  • University positions:
    Professor, Department of History and Philosophy of Science
  • Subjects:

Degrees

BA(Hons) in History and Philosophy of Science (University of Melbourne), Ph.D. in History of Science (University of Cambridge)

 

Research interests

The social, cultural and intellectual history of the physical sciences from the nineteenth century to the present, with specific interests in climatic periods, sensory sciences, the decolonisation movement, and the power and limits of the physical worldview. I have been carrying out a long-term project on the relations between physics and anthropology and currently lead the Leverhulme-funded project Making Climate History with collaborators in the HPS and Geography departments, as well as a Mellon Sawyer Seminar on Histories of AI: A Genealogy of Power.

 

Teaching interests

The history of the physical sciences (broadly construed) from the 19th century to the present, examining the relations between material, intellectual, social and cultural dimensions of science. In the HPS department I teach a variety of Part IB, Part II and Part III lectures and courses including courses on Climate Change and History of Anthropology. More particular interests include science in the fin de siècle, the sciences of the senses, and science and war.

 

Other interests

Poetry, family life, swimming in rivers and lakes