Education

PhD, University of Toronto, 2015
BSc, University of Toronto, 2006

About

I joined the USC Philosophy Department in 2020 and in 2024 was named a McCausland Fellow by the College of Arts and Sciences. Before coming to USC, I taught at Cambridge University, the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, and the University of Pittsburgh. I serve as chair of the Joint Commission of the International Union of the History and Philosophy of Science and Technology (IUHPST) and member of the Division of Logic, Methodology, and Philosophy of Science (DLMPST) Council.

Research Interests

My research aims to understand the integration of information from various sources, including theoretical frameworks, experimental techniques, and disciplinary perspectives. What makes integrative research effective and what are its limitations? My work addresses these questions by examining historical and contemporary scientific practice. For instance, I explore the role that different forms of representation play in enabling effective integration of information from theory and data, as well as how the reliability of different (possibly incommensurable) forms of evidence can be assessed. I am also interested in methodological questions about how historical and philosophical perspectives on science can be most fruitfully integrated in the field of history and philosophy of science (HPS). Currently, I am beginning a new research project that examines the integration of Buddhist with scientific perspectives in the emerging field of contemplative science. 

Publications

• Bolinska, A. (2024). ‘A monist proposal: Against integrative pluralism about protein structure’, Erkenntnis  89: 1711–33.
• Bolinska, A. (2023). 'Epistemic expression in the determination of biomolecular structure' Studies in History and Philosophy of Science Part A, 100: 107-115.
• Bolinska, A. & Martin, J. D. (2021). ‘The tragedy of the canon; or, path dependence in the history and philosophy of science’, Studies in History and Philosophy of Science Part A, 89:63-73.
  • An author interview about this paper is available at the Circle: Philosophy, Science, and History.
• Suárez, M. & Bolinska, A. (2021). ‘Informative models: Idealization and abstraction’, in Cassini, A. & Redmond, J. (eds.), Idealizations in Science:. Logic, Epistemology, and the Unity of Science, vol 50. Springer, Cham.
• Bolinska, A. & Martin, J. D. (2020) ‘Negotiating history: contingency, canonicity, and case studies’, Studies in History and Philosophy of Science Part A 80:37-46.
  • Winner of the 2019 International Union for the History and Philosophy of Science and Technology Essay Prize in the History and Philosophy of Science
  • Synopsis available in the 100th Issue of the CSHPS Communiqué 
• Bolinska, A. (2018). 'Synthetic versus analytic approaches to protein and DNA structure determination', Biology and Philosophy 33: 26.
• Bolinska, A. (2016). 'Successful visual epistemic representation', Studies in History and Philosophy of Science Part A 56: 153–160.
• Bolinska, A. (2013). 'Epistemic representation, informativeness and the aim of faithful representation', Synthese 190: 219–34.