Department of History
Dr. Kenneth L. Caneva
Contact Information
Email: klcaneva@uncg.edu
Office: MHRA 2113
Office Phone: 336-334-5203
Education
Ph.D., Princeton University, 1975
M.A., Princeton University, 1971
B.S., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1966
Teaching Experience
Professor,
University of North Carolina at Greensboro, 1995-
Associate Professor,
University of North Carolina at Greensboro, 1983-95
Assistant Professor,
University of North Carolina at Greensboro, 1979-83
Instructor, Vrije Universiteit, 1976-78
Instructor, University of Utah, 1972-76
Research Interests
My work has focused on the history of 19th century physics, especially electricity and energy. My current long-term project looks at the formulation and general acceptance of the concepts of energy and energy conservation during the second half of the 19th century. I recently completed a long paper on the role the concept of discovery plays in the establishment of consensus scientific knowledge.
Current Project
"'Discovery' as a Site for the Collective Construction of Scientific Knowledge" in Historical Studies in the Physical and Biological Sciences, Vol. 35, 2005
Courses Taught
- HIS 251, 252: The History of Western Science - A Survey. The first semester goes from the Babylonians through the Scientific Revolution; the second semester takes the story up to the 20th century.
- HIS 311: Darwin and the Theory of Evolution - After reading large sections of the Origin of Species, we drop back to consider the historical background to Darwin's evolutionary ideas, then look at its reception.
- HIS 360: The Structure of Scientific Change - This course uses Thomas Kuhn's Structure of Scientific Revolutions as a guide to the evaluation of several putative scientific revolutions.
- WCV 101: Western Civilization - I take the story through the 17th century, emphasizing questions of authority as they relate to politics, religion, philosophy, and science.
Recent Publications
- "Oersted's Presentation of Others'--and His Own--Work." In Robert Brain and Ole Knudsen, eds., Hans Christian Oersted and the Romantic Quest for Unity of Knowledge (Kluwer), forthcoming in 2005.
- "The Ecology of Romantic Biology." Isis, Vol. 94, 2003, pp. 679-683.
- "Possible Kuhns in the History of Science: Anomalies of Incommensurable Paradigms." Studies in History and Philosophy of Science, Vol. 31, 2000, pp. 87-124.
- "Objectivity, Relativism, and the Individual: A Role for a Post-Kuhnian History of Science." Studies in History and Philosophy of Science, Vol. 29, 1998, pp. 327-344.
- "Colding, Oersted, and the Meanings of Force." Historical Studies in the Physical and Biological Sciences, Vol. 28, 1997, pp. 1-138.
Awards and Honors
- History of Chemistry Division of the American Chemical Society, Outstanding Paper Award for best paper published in the Bulletin for the History of Chemistry during the previous three years ("Robert Mayer and the Conservation of Matter," No. 13/14), received 2001 for 1995 award year.
- Awarded a research fellowship for 1999/2000 from the Dibner Institute for the History of Science and Technology at MIT.
- Awarded a grant from the American-Scandinavian Foundation for three weeks' research in Copenhagen, 1995.
- Awarded a grant from the Dibner Library Resident Scholar Program, Smithsonian Institution Libraries, for a month's research in Washington, D.C., 1995.
- Awarded a National Science Foundation research grant for 1988/1989.