IISER MOHALI

Abstract: The framing of historical problems is conditioned in the case of the history of science by ways of seeing and knowing that evolve over time. This talk draws upon the works of historians and philosophers of science who have reflexively employed transcultural and global approaches to the history of science. Setting out with a problem in social theory, the talk goes on to provide a description of the Jantar Mantar at Jaipur as a cosmopolitan site for the production of astronomical knowledge. The second part draws upon more recent work undertaken by historians of architecture that is then brought to bear on the architecture of an observatory. Finally, the talk emphasizes how the changing historiography of the sciences has altered the manner in which we look at and understand scientific objects.