Marga Vicedo

Marga Vicedo is a Professor at the Institute for the History and Philosophy of Science and Technology (IHPST) at the University of Toronto. Her academic journey includes a Ph.D. in Philosophy from the University of Valencia and a Ph.D. in the History of Science from Harvard University. She has taught at the University of Salamanca and Arizona State University before joining the University of Toronto. Her work is deeply interdisciplinary, situated at the crossroads of history, philosophy, and the social study of science.

Her research focuses on the social and moral implications of scientific knowledge, particularly in the life sciences and psychology. Key areas include the history of autism, the concept of maternal instinct, attachment theory, the history of animal behavior studies, and the role of metaphor in science. She critically examines how scientific ideas about human nature, emotions, and child development have been shaped by cultural and historical contexts, especially during the Cold War era.

The trends in her recent publications reveal a sustained engagement with the history of psychiatry and psychology, the ethical dimensions of developmental science, and the historiographical analysis of key figures and concepts. Her work often challenges established narratives, such as the myth of the 'refrigerator mother' in autism, and critically assesses the cultural assumptions embedded in theories like attachment. She frequently publishes in leading journals in the history of science and psychology.

• Fellow, Max Planck Institute for the History of Science, Berlin
• Visiting Scholar, Department of History of Science, Harvard University
• Visiting Researcher, Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University
• Member, School for Historical Studies, Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton

Vicedo has advised students such as Juan Ilerbaig, with whom she has co-authored research on the origins of Leo Kanner's work on autism. Her research has been supported by major grants from the U.S. National Science Foundation and the Canadian Social Science and Humanities Research Council, as well as funding from the Dibner Institute, the Max Planck Institute, the Jackman Institute, and the Institute for Advanced Study. She serves on the editorial boards of several journals, including Interdisciplinary Science Reviews, History of Psychology, and Journal for the History of Biology, and is the Vice President of the Canadian Society for the History and Philosophy of Science. She is also involved in ongoing research on culture, child-rearing, and the philosophy of science as it relates to genetics.