Florence C. Hsia

Position title: Professor of History of Science, David Hall and Margie Devereaux Professor of History, Associate Vice Chancellor for Research in Arts & Humanities, OVCRGE, Associate Dean for Graduate Education, Graduate School

Email: fchsia@wisc.edu

Phone: 608.263.1784

Address:
Office: 4123 Mosse Humanities
Mailbox: 4028 Mosse Humanities
Curriculum Vitae (pdf)
Office Hours: Tuesdays 1:00–2:00pm and Thursdays 12:00–1:00pm, and by appointment in Bascom 323

Florence C. Hsia

Biography

I’m a historian of science with research interests in the history of astronomy, cartography, and print culture, as well as scientific data practices, communication, and knowledge production across cultures. My current research concerns the history of sinology in early modern Europe, as well as astronomical telegrams, sinographic textual data, and the recent historiography of Chinese science.

Education

Ph.D., University of Chicago, History, 1999
M.A., University of Chicago, History, 1995
A.B., Princeton University, East Asian Studies, 1990

Books

Selected Publications

  • “Astronomy after the deluge,” in Science in the archives: pasts, presents, futures, ed. by Lorraine Daston, Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2017, 17-52.
  • “Chinese Astronomy for the Early Modern European Reader,” Early Science and Medicine 13:5 (2008), 417-450.
  • “Athanasius Kircher’s China illustrata (1667): an apologia pro vita sua” section in Paula Findlen, ed., Athanasius Kircher: The Last Man Who Knew Everything (Routledge, 2004).

Advisor To

History Courses

  • History of Science 201 – The Origins of Scientific Thought – Syllabus 2022 (pdf)
  • History of Science 323 – The Scientific Revolution – Syllabus 2021 (pdf)
  • History of Science 623 – Studies in Early Modern Science – Syllabus 2021 (pdf)
  • History of Science 903 – Medieval, Renaissance, and 17th Century Science: Early Modern Scientific Paperwork – Syllabus 2022 (pdf)