Keynote Speakers

Antonella Romano is a historian of knowledge and early modern global history of science at the École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales (EHESS), Paris. Her research explores the relationships between knowledge, religion, and empire in the making of the early modern world. Initially focusing on the teaching of mathematics during the Renaissance, she subsequently turned to the role of the Society of Jesus, and more generally missionaries, in the production and circulation of knowledge across the Catholic world.
Her work examines the ways in which Europe sought to understand, incorporate and encompass the wider world during the sixteenth century, with particular attention to missionary networks, the Iberian empires, and global processes of knowledge exchange. More recently, she has investigated the epistemic dimensions of European expansion, including the organisation of knowledge, languages, and cartographic representations of the world.

Sven Dupré is a historian of art, technology, and knowledge whose research lies at the intersection of technical art history, material culture studies, and the history of science and technology. His work explores the making of knowledge through artistic and artisanal practices, with particular attention to the relationships between art, technology, and conservation.
An interdisciplinary scholar, Dupré has developed innovative approaches to the study of historical making processes, collaborating with artists, conservators, and scientists to investigate the material and technical dimensions of artistic production. His research has addressed topics ranging from Renaissance art and craft knowledge to the circulation of techniques, materials, and expertise across different cultural and scientific contexts. Through major international research projects, including an ERC-funded project on art and knowledge, he has contributed significantly to our understanding of how knowledge was generated, transmitted, and transformed through practices of making and experimentation.
From May 2026, he serves as Dean of the Faculty of Humanities and Professor of Heritage, Technology and Conservation Studies at the University of Amsterdam.