Sophie Serra

About Sophie Serra

I am a philosopher and historian of science, and my work is focused on Medieval (13th-14th c.) works in natural philosophy and astronomy.

I studied Philosophy at Université Paris-Sorbonne and Ecole Normale Supérieure (Ulm).

I defended my PhD in 2015 : "Nicole Oresme : Exigences scientifiques et projet politique" (dir: Prof. Dr. Ruedi Imbach) at Paris-Sorbonne (now Sorbonne University).

I am a postdoc in the project "Aristotelian Science" at the University of Gothenburg, led by Ana María Mora Marquez and funded by the Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation.

Previously, I have been a postdoc in the ERC Project "ALFA", Observatoire de Paris-PSL/CNRS, P.I. Matthieu Husson.

I have taught (a lot) of Medieval Philosophy and History of science in several French universities (Université de Tours, Paris-Sorbonne, Nanterre, Paris-Est-Créteil, PSL, Lille) from 2014 to 2023.

From 2015 to 2020 I mostly worked on Nicole Oresme and the articulation of science and politics in his theories, methods and life achievements. Since 2020, my work focuses on the Parisian astronomers at the turn of the 13th and 14th and their epistemic norms.

My research is structured along two axes: the notion of error in Medieval science, its identification, renunciation and correction, according to the historical actors ; the social dimension of Medieval Science, from a theoretical as well as a practical point of view. On a more general note, I am also concerned with historiography.

When a PhD student, I have been president and founder of "Studium", the French association for early career scholars in Medieval Philosophy, from 2013 to 2017.

I am co-editor (with Véronique Decaix) to the Pariscope Medieval that features academic events and publications in the field of Medieval Philosophy in the Paris region. I am also contributing editor for the IsisCurrentBibliography in History of Science.

Since 2020, I am also an associate researcher of the research unit SPHere (UMR 7219), Univ. Paris-Cité-CNRS.