Hanne Andersen

Hanne Andersen

Professor

Medlem af:

  • Videnskabsteori og videnskabshistorie

About me

As a historian and philosopher of science I am engaged in making history, philosophy and sociology of science relevant to researchers and educators as well as to academic leaders and policy makers.

I was elected member of the European Academy of Sciences in 2018 and corresponding member of l'Academie Internationale de Philosophie des Sciences in 2019.

My full CV can be found here.

Leadership

I am an active member of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), Philosophy of Science Association (PSA). European Philosophy of Science Association (EPSA) and Society for Philosophy of Science in Practice (SPSP). In serving these societies, I work for an increased interaction between history, philosophy and sociology of science and practicing scientists, science educators and science policy, as well as for increased collaboration internationally.

I have been PI of the research project "Philosophy of Contemporary Science in Practice" which was funded by the Danish Research Council for the Humanities as part of the program for Female Reseach Leaders; co-team leader (together with Team leader Marcel Weber) of Team B: The life sciences in the ESF research network "The Philosophy of Science in a European Persepctive" ; and PI (together with co-PIs Samuel Schindler and Peter Sandøe) of the Danish Research Network for Philosophy of Science (funded by the Danish Research Council for the Humanities from 2011 to 2015). 

I have also served as EiC of the journal Centaurus - the official journal of the European History of Science Society.

Finally, as a member of the Danish Committee on Research Misconduct and of the Panel of independent experts to facilitate replies to technical questions from the general public on a long-term solution for radioactive waste in Denmark, I work to make philosophical reflection on the practice and role of science relevant within the scientific community as well as to the public at large.

For severall years, I have served my universities in various leadership positions. In this capapcity, I have alwaysed aimed at using insights from history, philosophy and sociology of science to inform and improve leadership and policy development within the sector of research and higher education. As a scholar with experience from university leadership and management, I am particularly interested in international comparisons of university governance, policies for research and for higher education in general as well as for general education and "Bildung" in particular; in the use and misuse of bibliometrics; in responsible conduct of research; and in the structure and development of 21st century science, including the importance of interdisciplinarity, innovation, and digitalization.

Research

My research falls within political epistemology, philosophy of science in practice, and integrated history and philosophy of science. My primary research focus is on the structure and development of 20th and 21st century science, broadly construed. In examining science as it is practiced, I integrate historical and contemporary case studies with analytical tools drawn from general philosophy of science, social epistemology, and research ethics.

Currently, my work is especially focused on interdisciplinarity and expertise, research integrity, and academic institutions and scholarly careers.

History and philosophy of interdisciplinarity and expertise

Under this heading, I am examining collaborative and interdisciplinary practices of knowledge production, how these practices have developed and still are developing, how they affect our understanding of disciplines and of expertise, and which implications they have for academic education, policy development and research management today and in the future. My publications include:

History and philosophy of scientific malpractice: Negligence, ignorance and distrust

Misconduct and questionable research practices (QRP) are major concerns in all areas of research today. Analyzing the epistemic implications of negligence and ignorance in science and the processes during which researchers may become aware of and cope with possible breaches to their trust, I aim at developing a new kind of training in responsible conduct of research (RCR) that provides researchers in their roles as collaborators, mentors, and peers with adequate tools to detect QRP and to intervene at an early stage. My publications include:

Academic institutions and scholarly careers

Communication patterns, stratification, incentive structures and reward are important factors in understanding what drives the development within academia today. I work at using insights from history, philosophy and sociology of science to inform bibliometrics and to create a nuanced understanding of academic career structures. My publications include:

  • Andersen, H. (2023): Publish or Perish, Tierny et al. (eds.): International Encyclopedia of Education, Elsevier, pp. 158-166
  • Andersen, H. (2021): Leading faculty as teachers, in A. Lindgreen, A. Irwin, F. Poulfelt, and T. U. Thomsen (eds.) ‘How to lead academic departments successfully’, London: Edward Elgar, pp. 147-163
  • Contributions to the SAGE Encyclopedia on Higher Education on "Tenure and promotion", "Publish or perish", "General education", and "Research ethics: Conduct and misconduct", 2020.
  • Andersen, H. (2019): Can scientific knowledge be measured by numbers?, in McCain, K. & Kampourakis, K. (ed.): What is scientific knowledge? : An introduction to contemporary epistemology of science. Routledge, s. 144-159.

Additional information on my research

A list of my publications can be found by pressing "Publications" above. 

Titles and dates for my conference presentations can be found under the menu "Activities" (press ... above)

Link to my Google Scholar Profile.

Teaching

In teaching history and philosophy of science to science students, my aim is to improve their proficiency in identifying and solving the various kinds of epistemological and ethical problems that they may encounter in their future role as scientists.

I have taught and co-taught philosophy of science to students in chemistry, biochemistry, geology medicinal chemistry nanoscience, physics, human biology, public health, medicine and dentistry.

I supervise projects and theses on the structure and development of 20th and 21st century science, on research integrity, and on the use of history and philosophy of science in science education.

ID: 136822828