Sandra Rebok

Background

About Sandra Rebok

I am a historian of science and ideas specializing in the transatlantic intellectual and scientific networks of the 18th and 19th centuries, exploration voyages, and the political context in which they developed. My research focuses on the global circulation of knowledge, imperial expansion, and the complex entanglements between Europe, the Americas, and the expanding scientific world. Trained in Heidelberg, Paris, and Madrid, with a PhD from the University of Heidelberg, I have held academic appointments and fellowships across leading institutions in Europe and the U.S, including UC San Diego, the Huntington Library, the Spanish National Research Council, the International Center for Jefferson Studies, and the Smithsonian Institution. I also bring curatorial and advisory experience from international exhibitions and cultural diplomacy projects. My work combines historical scholarship with public engagement, achieved through publications, exhibitions, and speaking engagements spanning five continents. I am committed to interdisciplinary dialogues and global approaches to the challenges of today’s societies, with a special interest in Science Diplomacy, History Diplomacy, and Culture & Foreign Policy. More specifically, I have over twenty years of experience in Humboldtian scholarship, with a particular focus on his connection to the Spanish Empire and the United States. Currently, I am working on my new book project that analyzes Thomas Jefferson’s strategic pursuits regarding the Spanish and Mexican Southwest, and am preparing my future project on the role of history within the Science Diplomacy framework. Feel free to connect if you are interested in collaborating.