The Maths of History
On the 6th August the ECM committee will host the first in the new 'Maths of' seminar series about the Maths of History. Dr Sebastian Ahnert, University of Cambridge, will join us to talk about Tudor Networks of Power. We will also hear from Alara Kaba, a student at the University of Bristol, about cliodynamics. There
Details
When? Thursday 6 August 2026, 11am to 12pm
Where? Online Via Zoom
On the 6th August the ECM committee will host the first in the new 'Maths of' seminar series about the Maths of History. Dr Sebastian Ahnert, University of Cambridge, will join us to talk about Tudor Networks of Power. We will also hear from Alara Kaba, a student at the University of Bristol, about cliodynamics. There will be time for questions and discussion, and we hope to see you there.
Main Talk, Dr Sebastian Ahnert, University of Cambridge
Network science is a highly interdisciplinary area of research, with foundations in physics, computer science, and mathematics, and applications in almost every academic discipline. Here we use network analysis to study a historical archive of government correspondence during the Tudor period (1509-1603) in England. The 130,000 letters in this archive connect over 20,000 individuals over this period, which saw major political and religious upheaval and the establishment of extensive government intelligence networks that operated both within Britain and across Europe. By connecting quantitative analysis of the network to historical research questions we demonstrate new ways in which historians can interrogate and navigate this vast archive in entirely new ways to further our understanding of this complex historical period.
Student Talk, Alara Kaba, University of Bristol
History is usually told through stories of human decisions and politics, but a new field of science called cliodynamics treats human history as a predictable, multi-particle physics problem. This talk explores how researchers use nonlinear differential equations and fluid dynamics models to analyze how civilizations rise and fall. We will look at how treating populations like molecules in a gas allows us to mathematically track the invisible forces of economic pressure, social inequality, and resource depletion. By examining the cyclical data behind past collapses, we will see how the exact same mathematics used to predict physical weather patterns can be applied to forecast the inevitable political storms of human history.
If you would like to present at a future Maths of seminar, then please get in touch with ecm@ima.org.uk. If you would like to present a student talk, please submit an abstract here.
Final information will be sent out 24 hours before the event.