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Remembering Sofya Kovalevskaya

  • Book
  • © 2011

Overview

Authors:
  1. Michèle Audin

    1. , IRMA, Université de Strasbourg et CNRS, Strasbourg, France

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  • The first biography to be written about Sofya Kovalevskaya by a renowned mathematician
  • Offers a well-rounded narrative that incorporates literature, mathematics and personal biography
  • May also appeal to those doing general feminist studies

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Table of contents (12 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-xxiii
    Download chapter PDF

  2. Sofya’s chronology

    • Michèle Audin
    Pages 15-23

  3. Sofya’s names

    • Michèle Audin
    Pages 25-28

  4. Stories

    • Michèle Audin
    Pages 29-70

  5. The thesis of Sofya, the Cauchy–Kovalevskaya theorem

    • Michèle Audin
    Pages 71-88

  6. The solid

    • Michèle Audin
    Pages 89-108

  7. A letter to Mittag-Leffler

    • Michèle Audin
    Pages 109-123

  8. Stockholm

    • Michèle Audin
    Pages 125-147

  9. A letter to Vollmar

    • Michèle Audin
    Pages 149-155

  10. The Bordin prize and Sofya’s reputation

    • Michèle Audin
    Pages 157-179

  11. The women of Men of mathematics

    • Michèle Audin
    Pages 181-197

  12. I remember Sofya, by George, Gösta, Julia and all the rest

    • Michèle Audin
    Pages 199-242

  13. I too remember Sofya

    • Michèle Audin
    Pages 243-260

  14. Back Matter

    Pages 261-284
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Keywords

About this book

Sofia Kovalevskaya was a brilliant and determined young Russian woman of the 19th century who wanted to become a mathematician and who succeeded, in often difficult circumstances, in becoming arguably the first woman to have a professional university career in the way we understand it today. This memoir, written by a mathematician who specialises in symplectic geometry and integrable systems, is a personal exploration of the life, the writings and the mathematical achievements of a remarkable woman. It emphasises the originality of Kovalevskaya’s work and assesses her legacy and reputation as a mathematician and scientist. Her ideas are explained in a way that is accessible to a general audience, with diagrams, marginal notes and commentary to help explain the mathematical concepts and provide context. This fascinating book, which also examines Kovalevskaya’s love of literature, will be of interest to historians looking for a treatment of the mathematics, and those doing feminist or gender studies.

Reviews

From the book reviews:

“For those who have already read one or two of the numerous biographies, Audin’s portrayal can serve as a valuable addition and a stimulus to rethink opinions already formed. Moreover, for scholars conducting research on Kovalevskaya, the multifaceted potpourri presented in this book will raise a lot of interesting questions and perspectives from which to approach their subject in a different way.” (Eva Kaufholz-Soldat, Historia Mathematica, Vol. 40 (4), 2013)

“The book under review is devoted to Sofia Kovalevskaya. She was the first woman with a university professional activity. This book gives a particular vision of her. … The book provides a picture of Sofia Kovalevskaya that stresses the unity of different aspects of her personality. It has been published in a very nice way, it contains a lot of illustrations and photos. It will be an interesting source of information about Kovalevskaya, even more interesting because it contains the author’s personal view of her.” (Roman Murawski, Zentralblatt MATH, Vol. 1234, 2012)

Authors and Affiliations

  • , IRMA, Université de Strasbourg et CNRS, Strasbourg, France

    Michèle Audin

About the author

Michèle Audin; Professor of Mathematics at IRMA, Université de Strasbourg et CNRS, France

Bibliographic Information

  • Book Title: Remembering Sofya Kovalevskaya

  • Authors: Michèle Audin

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-85729-929-1

  • Publisher: Springer London

  • eBook Packages: Mathematics and Statistics, Mathematics and Statistics (R0)

  • Copyright Information: Springer-Verlag London Limited 2011

  • Hardcover ISBN: 978-0-85729-928-4Published: 17 August 2011

  • Softcover ISBN: 978-1-4471-6935-2Published: 23 August 2016

  • eBook ISBN: 978-0-85729-929-1Published: 17 August 2011

  • Edition Number: 1

  • Number of Pages: IX, 284

  • Additional Information: Translation from the French language edition: ‘Souvenirs sur Sofia Kovalevskaya’ by Michèle Audin Copyright © 2008 Calvage et Mounet, France

  • Topics: History of Mathematical Sciences, Theoretical and Applied Mechanics, Gender Studies

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