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Hyperprofessionalism and the Crisis of Readership in the History of Science

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2005

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University of Chicago Press
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Shapin, Steven. 2005. Hyperprofessionalism and the crisis of readership in the history of science. Isis 96(2): 238-243

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Abstract

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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