Dr Patricia Fara, Senior Tutor and Fellow of Clare College, has been awarded the prestigious 2011 British Society for the History of Science (BSHS) Dingle Prize for her book, Science: A Four Thousand Year History.

Dr Fara’s book aims to dispel the myth of a Scientific Revolution spearheaded by great geniuses such as Isaac Newton, Nicolaus Copernicus and Galileo Galilei. In contrast, Fara traces the history of science all the way back to the second millennium BC, to the Babylonian civilization, the origin of our 60-minute hour and 360-degree circle. Arguing that science has always been driven by the practical demands of war, politics and commerce, she highlights the rich and fascinating tales behind the abstract theory and esoteric experiments. Instead of glorifying idealized heroes, she tells true stories about real people – the men (and sometimes women) who needed to earn their living, who made mistakes, and who sometimes quashed their rivals in their quest for success.

The BSHS Dingle Prize was created in 1997 to celebrate the Society’s 50th anniversary. It goes to the author whose book best represents “history of science, technology, and medicine” and is “accessible to a wide audience of non-specialists”. The specifications state that the winning book should present its content “in an engaging and comprehensible manner and show also proper regard for historical methods and the results of historical research”.

Dr Fara’s book was chosen from a list of 40 nominated books. The long-list, comprising 16 books, included biographies of people and objects, local history and introductory surveys. It covered a wide range of disciplines, written by scientists, journalists and historians of science.

The judges chose Science: A Four Thousand Year History from a short-list of four books, for its “admirably broad scope, its historical and historiographical depth and its engaging re-presentation of the best of recent scholarship”.


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