Cultures and Politics of Research from the Early Modern Period to the Age of Extremes

(= Science as Cultural Practice; Vol. I [mehr bislang nicht erschienen]). Edited by Moritz Epple and Claus Zittel.

This volume represents a collection of studies in cultural history and theory of science from the early modern era to the present. The essays are linked by the conviction that one of the most significant developments in recent scientific historiography consists in its insistence that the relations between science, culture and history be understood and examined reciprocally. Not only does scientific practice take place under conditions shaped by social and cultural forces; it also generates and necessitates its own specific patterns of cultural, social and political activity. Sciences which have evolved into significant social systems produce their own cultures and politics. Through discussion of the common origin of scientific knowledge and the cultures and politics of research, this volume hopes to make a contribution toward a better understanding of the roles of scientific research from its inception in the 17th century up to the dramatic upheavals in the 20th century. With articles by Lorraine Daston, Sven Dierig, Moritz Epple, Evelyn Fox Keller, Mary Jo Nye , Dominique Pestre, Hans-Jörg Rheinberger, Simon Schaffer, Friedrich Steinle, Catherine Wilson, Norton M. Wise and Claus Zittel. 283 Seiten mit 34 Abb., gebunden (Wissenskultur und gesellschaftlicher Wandel; Band 24/Akademie Verlag 2010)