ESHS/HSS Annual Meeting

The Digital Revolution: An Introduction with Two Case Studies

• In Event: The Impact of the Digital Revolution on the History of Science and its Social Implications-1

English Abstract

The digital revolution has made it possible to process and archive large amounts of data digitally. Whereas large publishing projects used to be printed, today they are stored in databases and published online via interfaces, usually made available to the research community in open access format. In my presentation, I would like to share some examples of this fundamental change that I have been involved in myself, as well as some important databases on the history of science that I have come across in the course of my research.
The first example concerns the scientifically based Historical Dictionary of Switzerland, where I was responsible for mathematics and all natural sciences as editor. This was first published in a print edition of 41 volumes in the four national languages between 2002 and 2014, with the collaboration of over 2,500 authors. From 1989 onwards, the texts were also published on the internet in parallel with the print edition. In 2018, the HLS took the decisive step towards a purely digital future with a new website. The indexing of all 36,000 articles forms the basis for various search functions. In addition, the articles have been linked to a variety of other databases, such as the Bibliography of Swiss History and relevant portals.
The second example concerns large data collections, editions of works, and catalogs, which were initially made available to scholars in voluminous printed volumes. These were later transformed into comprehensive virtual research environments with additional materials. Among the better-known examples are the Newton Project, the République des Lettres, the Bernoulli Edition, the Perseus Digital Library, and the Electronic Enlightenment, some of which will be presented in our lectures. The borrowing registers I examined in connection with Riemann constitute a new type of source in the history of science. Large-scale databases on borrowing in libraries are currently being set up in Glasgow and Paris.

Author

• Erwin Neuenschwander, Institute of Mathematics University of Zurich