Year: 2024
Type: editorial
Abstract: Osirisa history of collaborative work and hidden laborIn 1985, Osiris was relaunched as "a research journal devoted to the history of science and its cultural influences."Since its conception by George Sarton in 1936, Osiris has been always Isis's younger sibling.Sarton's fascination with Ancient Egyptian tradition reflected his and his generation's investment in a linear story that explores and traces the origins of Western sciences from Ancient Egypt (as the pre-history) to ancient Greece to the Islamic "Middle Ages" and then to modernity through the Enlightenment and the scientific revolution.Isis, the Egyptian Goddess that became global, was a perfect symbol of this story.Osiris, the god who failed to become as internationally known, gave his name to the journal that Sarton considered to be the place of experimentation and reflection: "with hope and conviction that the history of science community needed to expand the range of its discourse, while remaining true to the standards of Isis."In a way, while Isis was to be the flagship journal that publishes cutting-edge research to the world, Osiris would take on the task of allowing historians of science to chart the future of the field or to talk to one another and about one another.The first volume after the relaunch was a perfect representation of this approach.Sally Gregory Kohlstedt and Margaret W. Rossiter edited the first volume in the journal's new incarnation.The volume was centered around "historical writings on American science" and examined the histories of the great tradition.Kohlstedt and Rossiter are, of course, key figures in our contemporary understanding of the field.In 1989, that was not exactly the case.Kohlstedt had received her PhD from UIUC only 12 years earlier but had dedicated so much time and effort to HSS and the society's Women's Caucus.Rossiter had not secured a permanent position and had just extended her contract at Cornell.Originally, she was supposed to be there for two years, but Cornell agreed to extend her tenure for one more year.Rossiter had already won a Guggenheim fellowship and became a MacArthur Fellow in 1989.Yet, Cornell refused to hire her on a permanent basis until the University of Georgia tried to recruit her away from the Ivy.In a way, and despite their achievements, Kohlstedt and Rossiter edited the first volume in the new Osiris as part of their consistent service to the profession and while struggling to secure the recognition that they earned.Today, Osiris stands to continue this mission: offering a space for a new and exciting look into the future of the field and a reflection on its past.In the same way that the journal's first "new" editors pioneered the history of women in science, Osiris editors and volume editors worked to use the platform to enhance diversity and inclusion and to explore new and important methodological approaches.This mission, however, hides within its folds the hidden labor that makes Osiris possible.First, as a journal dedicated to thematic volumes, Osiris produces perhaps the largest and most regularly edited volumes in the field.While many presses are understandably weary of edited volumes and the potential of disconnect, Osiris volume editors work to create workshops and spaces for authors to come together and think about new and important questions collectively and creatively.This is not an easy endeavor.It requires significant effort and dedication to be able to bring together a group of authors and to organize enough interactions to allow for a fruitful outcome.Editing is always a challenging task.Editing an Osiris volume is certainly more involved and deliberate than many other editing endeavors.In the same vein, this work is important because it highlights the importance of collective and collaborative work in an academic context that has grown increasingly individualized and competitive, especially with the dismal state of the job market.
Authors: Leong, Elaine, Ragab, Ahmed, Sheldon, Myrna
Language: English
Subfield: History and Philosophy of Science
Field: Arts and Humanities
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7039346052
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