Dissertation Research: Circumscribing the Nature of the Natural: Inquisition, canonization and views of nature at the dawn of the Scientific Revolution

16世纪末和17世纪初，欧洲科学处于不断变化之中，新的理论和发现重塑了欧洲的学术生活。与此同时，随着新教和天主教的改革改变了教义和实践，欧洲的宗教构成也在发生变化。本论文研究项目考察了科学和宗教在这一关键时期的互动方式，通过调查天主教会如何定义和监管自然和超自然之间的边界。这篇论文将通过借鉴教会对两个超自然力量领域的调查来对这些关键领域做出贡献：魔法和圣徒。研究基金将支持一个为期9个月的意大利研究之旅，主要在国家档案馆、教廷牧首档案馆和马西亚纳图书馆工作。

The late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries found European science in flux, as new theories and discoveries reshaped Europe's intellectual life. At the same time, Europe's religious makeup was shifting, as Protestant and Catholic reforms altered doctrine and practice. This dissertation research project examines the ways in which science and religion interacted on the ground in this pivotal period, by investigating how the Catholic Church defined and policed the boundary between the natural and the supernatural. This dissertation will contribute to these key areas by drawing upon Church investigations into two spheres of supernatural power: magic and sainthood. Research funds will support a nine-month research trip to Italy to work primarily at the Archivio di Stato, the Archivio della Curia Patriarcale, and the Marciana library.