Laura Turner, Ph.D.

The History of Mathematics

My research treats the history of mathematics in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. In my work, I focus on not only the origin, evolution, and reception of mathematical ideas, but also on how mathematics is communicated (and to whom, and why), and the different ways in which mathematics is impacted by broader cultural, social, and political issues. I am particularly interested in the history of complex analysis in the advent of set theory; the histories of mathematical journals and congresses; the history of women in mathematics; and the internationalization and nationalization of mathematics around the time of the First World War.

More recently, I have been working on a project involving the origins of our axioms for various mathematical structures, and a related project concerning the ways in which axiom systems are connected to broader educational concerns in the early 1900s. If you’re interested in learning more about the history of mathematics, don’t hesitate to stop by my office!