Bernard Lightman


Bernard Vise Lightman, FRSC is a Canadian historian, and professor of Humanities and Science and Technology Studies at York University, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. He specializes in the relationship between Victorian science and unbelief, the role of women in science, and the popularization of science.
Lightman is known for his work as the editor of the journal Isis as well as his role in the Tyndall project, an effort to make available the life and letters of the nineteenth-century scientist John Tyndall. Lightman has received several awards and honours. For example, on November 26, 2011, he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada and on December 4, 2010, he was elected a Corresponding Member of the International Academy of the History of Science.

Life and Works

Lightman began his career studying Victorian agnosticism amongst prominent scientific naturalists, including such figures as Thomas Henry Huxley and John Tyndall. The focus of this work was on the ways in which early agnostics did not simply see their title as a mask for atheism, but instead based it on an understanding of the epistemology of the German philosopher Immanuel Kant. Since 1989, Lightman's work has largely focused on the popularization of science and particularly on the role that Victorian periodicals and print culture played in shaping the form of scientific debates in the public arena.
Lightman has authored, co-authored and edited several books, and has published more than 44 refereed articles and book-chapter. , which is an international collaborative effort to obtain, digitalize, transcribe, and publish all surviving letters to and from John Tyndall, was initiated by Lightman. He is currently working on a biography of John Tyndall and is a general editor on the project. In addition, he is the editor of a book series titled 'Science and Culture in the Nineteenth Century' published by the University of Pittsburgh Press.
At York University, Lightman has been appointed to a number of administrative positions over the years, including Associate Dean of Arts, Acting Director of Academic Staff Relation, Coordinator of the interdisciplinary program Science and Society, and Director of the Graduate Program in Humanities.

Selected works