BSc (Trent), MA (Tor), PhD (Cantab)
Ian Stewart joined King’s in 1995 as a teaching fellow in the Foundation Year Program (FYP). Back in the 80s, mid-way through his undergraduate degree in physics, he realized that the sciences interested him more from the perspectives of philosophical, historical and sociological analysis. After completing his BSc (Hons) at Trent University, he studied in the field of history and philosophy of science at Toronto (MA), and at Cambridge (PhD).
Ian is currently an assistant professor in the History of Science and Technology Program, and also teaches in the Foundation Year and Early Modern Studies Programs. He is also adjunct professor at the Department of Classics, Dalhousie University, and Research Member, Environmental Information: Use and Impact (www.eiui.ca) at the School of Information Management, Dalhousie University.
Recent papers and presentations
- “Restoring ecosystems after oil spills: philosophical considerations and policy implications”, Rotman Institute of Philosophy, Western University, London, ON., Nov 24, 2017
- “Past and present dynamics of technology innovation (and stasis) in Canada’s oil spill remediation sector”, Canadian Science and Technology Historical Association, London ON., Nov 3-5, 2017
- “Scientific and Technical Expertise in the Public Spotlight: Public Engagement Constraints in PEOPs Research and Policy Development”, Symposium on Persistent and Emerging Organic Pollution in Cold and Coastal Environments”, Memorial University, NL, Oct 16-17, 2017.
- “Expert vs. non-expert knowledge in oil spill response planning: a social sciences perspective”, Environment Canada and Climate Change Technical Seminar on Environmental Contamination and Response” Calgary, AB, Oct 3-5, 2017.
- “Fish vs Oil?: a STS perspective on a seemingly unavoidable agon” , Social Sciences and Humanities Ocean Research and Education (SSHORE), Dalhousie University, May 11, 2017
- “The politics of environmental science: some recent episodes in Atlantic Canada”; Department of Biology, St. Francis Xavier University, Feb. 9, 2017
- “Linking Science Producers to Users: Designing a proposed pan-Canadian oil spill research Network of Expertise”; panel contributor, Canada Science Policy Conference, Ottawa Ontario, Nov. 9, 2016
- “Improving Ocean Management: Critical insights about information pathways to strengthen evidence-based decision making”; moderated panel, Canada Science Policy Conference, Ottawa Ontario, Nov. 8, 2016
- Oil spill response and social licence: a perspective from the social sciences”, 39th ECCC A.M.O.P. Technical Seminar on Environmental Contamination and Response, Halifax, June 7-9, 2016
- With Peter Wells, (International Oceans Institute, Dalhousie University) “Diluted Bitumen spills in the Bay of Fundy: an update on the scientific and technological challenges and environmental risks”, Bay of Fundy Ecosystem Partnership Annual Conference, June, 8-11, 2016, Fredericton, NB.
- “Navigating through oil spills in marine environments: scientific uncertainty, public perception and sustainable practice” February 23, 2016 Univesity of Ottawa Institute of the Environment Seminar Series.
- “The ‘environment’ of environmental science in Canada: recent socio-political developments, and why scientists should care” Feb 4, 2016, Biology & Oceanography Departmental Seminar Series, Dalhousie University
- “Mathematics and the voice of Authority in Isaac Barrow’s Lectiones Mathematicae”, June 23, 2015, Max Planck Institute for History of Science (http://www.mpiwg-berlin.mpg.de/PDF/2015_06_23_Mathematics_and_Metaphysics.pdf)
- CBC Ideas (June 3, 2015) (http://www.cbc.ca/radio/ideas/science-under-siege-part-1-1.3091552)
- “Shale Gas: science policy issues in Canadian context: the case of Nova Scotia”, Balsillie School, University of Waterloo, Jan. 21, 2015
(https://www.balsillieschool.ca/event/shale-gas-science-policy-issues-canadian-context)
- co-coordinator of King’s College’s five-part public lecture series, Trust in Science exploring the public character of science (http://www.ccepa.ca/archives/2006_2007/archive-tis.html).
Research interests
- Renaissance and early-modern natural philosophies
- History of the universities
- Public understanding of science – past and present
- Science/government policy interface in field of environmental science of fossil fuel extraction
Selected publications and projects
- Westwood et al., (2017). “Strong foundations: Recap and recommendations from scientists regarding the federal environmental and regulatory reviews.” Submission to Government of Canada, Environmental and Regulatory Reviews; www.discussionpaper.ca
- Stewart, I. (2017). Review of Gingras, Y. L’impossible dialogue. Sciences et religions. Boréal. Isis, 108 (1), 163-4.
- Karabanow, J. and Stewart, I. (forthcoming, May 2017). The Art of Community: reflections on method, creativity and expertise. In F. Klodawsky, J. Siltanen and C. Andrew (eds) Seeking Equity and Inclusion in Canadian Cities, McGill-Queen’s.
- Stewart, I. and McMahon, D. (2016). Building bridges with the public. World Pipelines 16 (11), 70-5.
- Karabanow, J. and Stewart, I. (2015). Reflections on Organizational Changes in Street Youth Shelters. Organizational Cultures: An International Journal, 14 (3-4), 33-42.
- ‘“Res, veluti per machinas, conficiatur”: Natural History in Francis Bacon’s Reform of Natural Philosophy’, Early Science and Medicine, vol. 17 (2012)
- Review essay, Charlest T. Wolfe, Ofer Gal (eds). The Body as Object and Instrument of Knowledge: Embodied Empiricism in Early Modern Science, in Isis, vol. 103 (2012)
- (In progress, with Stephen Pumfrey) William Gilbert’s ‘A New philosophy concerning our sublunary world’: critical edition and translation (Brill Academic, forthcoming).
- “The new Novum Organum”, (review article of Graham Rees, ed., The Oxford Francis Bacon, vol. XI), History of Science xliii (2005), 457-466.
- “The Lucasian Statutes: translation and introduction,” in From Newton to Hawking: A History of Cambridge University’s Lucasian Professors of Mathematics(Cambridge University Press, 2004): 461-474.
- “‘Books and how to use them’” History of Science xl (2002): 233-245.
- “Fleshy Books: Isaac Barrow’s Oratorical Critique of Cartesian Natural Philosophy,” History of Universities 16 (2000): 35-102.
- “Mathematics as Philosophy: Proclus and Barrow,”Dionysius 18 (2000): 151-81.
