Biography 

Ken Alder holds a PhD in History of Science (1991, Harvard University), which he earned with support from NSF, Mellon, and Whiting fellowships. He also holds a degree in Physics (B.A. with honors, 1981, Harvard), where he was a member of Phi Beta Kappa and a National Merit Scholar. He has been a professor of History and holder of the Milton H. Wilson Chair in the Humanities at Northwestern University since 2003. He previously served as an associate professor (1997-2003) and assistant professor (1991-1997) at the same institution. Between 2014 and 2017, he served as chair of the History Department at Northwestern, overseeing more than 40 faculty members, 90 doctoral students, and 300 undergraduate students. He was also a Distinguished Professor for Excellence in Teaching (1999-2003).

Ken Alder is a key figure in the field of the history of science and technology. He served on the Executive Board of the History of Science Society (2005–2008) and the Society for the History of Technology (2004-2007). He has also served as an editorial advisor for the journals Technology & Culture (1997-2010) and Isis (1999-2004), while reviewing proposals for prestigious institutions such as the Guggenheim Foundation and the Huntington Library.

As the founder and director of the Science in Human Culture program at Northwestern, he led an interdisciplinary seminar for 30 years, supervised doctoral and postdoctoral students, and helped establish the Kaplan Humanities Scholars program for first-year students. His current research focuses on the interactions between science, technology, and culture, using a historical and critical approach. He continues to be involved in the evaluation of university programs and academic promotions.

Collaboration with IHRIM

Ken Alder’s visit is part of an academic exchange between Northwestern University and ENS de Lyon, a strategic partner in the humanities. His visit represents an opportunity to strengthen academic ties between the two institutions, particularly within IHRIM’s research focus area “History and Imaginaries of Science and Technology.”

Ken Alder directs the Science in Human Culture program at Northwestern and is currently developing an innovative research project titled “Lives of Machines.” This work takes an original approach by tracing the history of technology through the lens of the machines themselves, from ancient Mesopotamia to the digital age. By selecting ten iconic objects (such as Benjamin Franklin’s glasses, a flintlock pistol used as currency in Gambia, or a typewriter linked to the Unabomber case), he explores global themes: urbanization, the evolution of concepts of ownership, and the boundaries between human and machine. This project draws inspiration from an ancient literary genre (first-person narratives of objects), while incorporating contemporary reflections on environmental consciousness, such as a final meditation on Gaia.

His work overlaps with that of several IHRIM researchers, including Lucien Derainne (narratives of objects in the 18th and 19th centuries), Raphaële Andrault (mechanization and the history of mechanics), and Claire Barel-Moisan (speculative fiction and material culture). These synergies promise fruitful exchanges, particularly regarding narrative methodologies and the material and social implications of technology.

During his visit, Ken Alder will speak at IHRIM’s “19th–20th Century Literature and Arts” seminar to present his project on the autobiographies of objects, as well as at a conference on forensic medicine, his other current research focus. These presentations will be aimed at both researchers and Master's students, fostering interdisciplinary dialogue between the history of science, literature, and cultural studies. His visit will thus help broaden IHRIM’s perspectives on the interactions between objects, technologies, and societies.

Major publications

Books

• The Lie Detectors: The History of an American Obsession. New York, The Free Press/Simon & Schuster, 2007
• The Measure of All Things: The Seven-Year Odyssey and Hidden Error that Transformed the World. New York, The Free Press/Simon & Schuster, 2002. Ouvrage traduit en douze langues, dont le français (2005), et lauréat de nombreux prix de sociétés savantes.
• Engineering the Revolution: Arms and Enlightenment in France, 1763-1815. Princeton, Princeton University Press, 1997 ; 2e éd. Chicago, University of Chicago Press, 2010.

Articles and chapters (selection)

• “The Forensic Self: Expert Identification and the History of Script Culture in France,” Hans Rausing Lecture, October 2018, Uppsala Univ., Sweden; Savlia småskrifter 18 (2020): 1-48.
• “The History of Science as Oxymoron: From Scientific Exceptionalism to Episcience,” Isis 104 (2013): 88-101.  Centenary ‘Focus Section’ on the Future of the History of Science.
• “Scientific Conventions: International Assemblies and Universal Standards,” pp. 19-40, in Mario Biagioli and Jessica Riskin, eds., Nature Engaged. London: Palgrave Macmillan, 2012.