David de la Croix
(IRES/LIDAM, UCLouvain)
will give a presentation on
Salvation, Flora, and the Cosmos: Pre-modern Academic Institutions and the Spread of Ideas
Abstract: Having a few good ideas in a lifetime is not uncommon, but for those ideas to spread and evolve, a community is essential. About 200 universities operated in premodern Europe. Together with about 150 academies of sciences which blossomed in the 17th century, they employed thousands of scholars. We examine whether the network established by these institutions was sufficiently dense to foster the spread of scholars' ideas across time and space. By building a network of scholars exchanging ideas through institutional affiliations (intention to treat), we demonstrate how the European academic landscape exposed cities to new ideas, influencing their development. We highlight examples such as Botanic Gardens, the publication of calendars, and Protestantism. Through counterfactual simulations, we show that both universities and academies played a crucial role, with academies, even early one (Lincei, Mersenne), exerted a strong multiplier effect. Ideas gain significance when effectively channeled by powerful institutions.
(with Rossana Scebba, Chiara Zanardello)