Hyperprofessionalism and the Crisis of Readership in the History of Science | Zendy

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Hyperprofessionalism and the Crisis of Readership in the History of Science

Author(s) -

Steven Shapin

Publication year - 2005

Publication title -

isis

Language(s) - English

Resource type - Journals

SCImago Journal Rank - 0.217

H-Index - 41

eISSN - 1545-6994

pISSN - 0021-1753

DOI - 10.1086/431535

Subject(s) - audience measurement , value (mathematics) , focus (optics) , work (physics) , history , field (mathematics) , sociology , political science , social science , media studies , law , engineering , computer science , physics , mechanical engineering , mathematics , optics , machine learning , pure mathematics

There is a crisis of readership for work in our field, as in many other academic disciplines. One of its causes is a pathological form of the professionalism that we so greatly value. "Hyperprofessionalism" is a disease whose symptoms include self-referentiality, self-absorption, and a narrowing of intellectual focus. This essay describes some features and consequences of hyperprofessionalism in the history of science and offers a modest suggestion for a possible cure.

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