A historical introduction to the sociology of multi-messenger astrophysics - Einzelansicht

How many authors make a good paper? Who cares about the ”methods” section? Why do ”letters to the editor” do not look like letters? And when did naming conventions take a wrong turn?

This seminar invites participants to study present-day astrophysics from a broader perspective of science studies, looking at the often ignored and neglected factors that shape our understanding of the universe.

Each week, we read quite (but sometimes not so) famous papers on the philosophy, history and sociology of science and discuss their reasoning with respect to a broad canon of astronomical and astrophysical publications. We explore how, why and where research practice has evolved, tracing some widely acknowledged, some tacitly admitted, some usually denied steps in the ”genesis and development of a scientific fact” (L. Fleck).

Along the way, we will practice important methods in reading, interpreting and presenting sources that are more common in humanities but beneficial in science, too.