Debating New Approaches to the History of Science explores the big questions in the history of science and the main problems and challenges it is facing today. In each chapter, established and emerging scholars introduce new approaches to the history of science and revisit older perspectives which remain crucial, before providing a critical analysis of the perspective. The volume looks at topics such as the importance of the 'environmental turn' for the history of science and the possibilities for the field of moving beyond a focus on ideas and texts towards active engagement with materials and practices. It asks important questions such as 'what does it mean to study science's past in the Anthropocene?' and 'what are the prospects and limits of the 'material' and 'performative' turns?' Each chapter introduces and discusses new approaches to the history of science, and concludes with a critical commentary from another scholar in the field. With this innovative format, Debating New Approaches to the History of Science does not just provide a useful overview of the field, but it also offers insights into the process of historiography as it evolves. As such, it is essential reading for students and scholars studying contemporary developments in the history of science.

Debating Contemporary Approaches to the History of Science explores the main themes, problems and challenges currently at the top of the discipline's methodological agenda. In its chapters, established and emerging scholars introduce and discuss new approaches to the history of science and revisit older perspectives which remain crucial. Each chapter is followed by a critical commentary from another scholar in the field and the author's response. The volume looks at such topics as the importance of the 'global', 'digital', 'environmental', and 'posthumanist' turns for the history of science, and the possibilities for the field of moving beyond a focus on ideas and texts towards active engagement with materials and practices. It also addresses important issues about the relationship between history of science, on the one hand, and philosophy of science, history of knowledge and ignorance studies, on the other. With its innovative format, this volume provides an up-to-date, authoritative overview of the field, and also explores how and why the history of science is practiced. It is essential reading for students and scholars eager to keep a finger on the pulse of what is happening in the history of science today, and to contribute to where it might go next.

The Wiley Blackwell Companion to the History of Science is a single volume companion that discusses the history of science as it is done today, providing a survey of the debates and issues that dominate current scholarly discussion, with contributions from leading international scholars. Provides a single-volume overview of current scholarship in the history of science edited by one of the leading figures in the field Features forty essays by leading international scholars providing an overview of the key debates and developments in the history of science Reflects the shift towards deeper historical contextualization within the field Helps communicate and integrate perspectives from the history of science with other areas of historical inquiry Includes discussion of non-Western themes which are integrated throughout the chapters Divided into four sections based on key analytic categories that reflect new approaches in the field

From the beginning of the Scientific Revolution around the late sixteenth century to its final crystallization in the early eighteenth century, hardly an observational result, an experimental technique, a theory, a mathematical proof, a methodological principle, or the award of recognition and reputation remained unquestioned for long. The essays collected in this book examine the rich texture of debates that comprised the Scientific Revolution from which the modern conception of science emerged. Were controversies marginal episodes, restricted to certain fields, or were they the rule in the majority of scientific domains? To what extent did scientific controversies share a typical pattern, which distinguished them from debates in other fields? Answers to these historical and philosophical questions are sought through a close attention to specific controversies within and across the changing scientific disciplines as well as across the borders of the natural and the human sciences, philosophy, theology, and technology.

This work is a unique introductory A–Z resource detailing the scientific achievements of the contemporary world and analyzing the key scientific trends, discoveries, and personalities of the modern age. An authoritative reference survey of the modern age of scientific discovery, Science in the Contemporary World is a scholarly yet accessible chronicle of scientific achievement from the discovery of penicillin to the latest developments in space exploration and cloning. Over 200 A–Z entries cover the full spectrum of contemporary science, with emphasis on its diverse nature. Within the last 50 years, medicine has eradicated the killer disease smallpox, but primarily because the virus can live only in humans. Space probes have revealed that on Europa, a moon of Jupiter, an ice-capped ocean with the potential to support life probably exists. Marvels from animal psychology and deep-sea exploration are also explored extensively.

Scholars and experts focus on the larger moral context around the controversies over scientific research and technological innovations with accessible essays, original to this volume, which emphasize ethical deliberation rather than adversarial debate.

With its innovative format, Debating New Approaches to History addresses issues currently at the top of the discipline's theoretical and methodological agenda. In its chapters, leading historians of both older and younger generations from across the Western world and beyond discuss and debate the main problems and challenges that historians are facing today. Each chapter is followed by a critical commentary from another key scholar in the field and the author's response. The volume looks at topics such as the importance and consequences of the 'digital turn' in history (what will history writing be like in a digital age?), the challenge of posthumanist theory for history writing (how do we write the history of non-humans?) and the possibilities of moving beyond traditional sources in history and establishing a dialogue with genetics and neurosciences (what are the perspectives and limits of the so-called 'neurohistory'?). It also revisits older debates in history which remain crucial, such as what the gender approach can offer to historical research or how to write history on a global scale. Debating New Approaches to History does not just provide a useful overview of the new approaches to history it covers, but also offers insights into current historical debates and the process of historical method in the making. It demonstrates how the discipline of history has responded to challenges in society – such as digitalization, globalization and environmental concerns – as well as in humanities and social sciences, such as the 'material turn', 'visual turn' or 'affective turn'. This is a key volume for all students of historiography wanting to keep their finger on the pulse of contemporary thinking in historical research.