Dr. Pamela Smith

Professor

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Biography

Pamela H. Smith is the Seth Low Professor of History at Columbia University and the founding Director of the Center for Science and Society. She specializes in the history of material culture, craft practices, and knowledge production during the early modern period. Smith is noted for leading the Making and Knowing Project, which creates open-access educational resources connecting historical craft practices with contemporary learning. Her publications include influential works such as *Business Alchemy* (1994) and *Lived Experience, Written Word* (2022), which explore the intersections of craft, science, and art in shaping human knowledge. Smith has received multiple accolades for her contributions to the field, including the George L. Mosse Prize and the Joseph H. Hazen Education Prize. Her research highlights the significance of empirical knowledge in history, emphasizing the ways that manual practices informed scientific understanding in Renaissance Europe. She has delivered numerous lectures and participated in collaborative projects that examine the long-term socio-natural histories of industries, demonstrating the relevance of historical craft to contemporary scholarship.

Research Interests

Awards

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George L. Mosse Prize

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Joseph H. Hazen Education Prize

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Digital Innovation Award

Courses

HIST UN2978: Science and Pseudoscience: Alchemy and AI HIST GU4962: Making Knowing Early Modern Europe: Hands-On History HIST GR8137: Industryscapes: Socio-natural Sites of Resource Extraction in the Preindustrial World

Requirements for Columbia University

Doctorate Program
Requirements
GPA Requirement
Required:3
TOEFL
Total
Required:100
IELTS
Overall
Required:7.5
Prerequisites
Bachelor's degree or international equivalent
Application Checklist
  • Online application
  • Transcripts
  • Statement of Academic Purpose
  • Personal Statement
  • Three letters of recommendation
  • CV or Resume
  • Application fee
Specialization Notes

Department of Anthropology (GSAS)