Abstract

Loss of the Inner Core: Expectations and Fears for the Future of the History of Science. In this paper, I discuss the current state of history of science in Germany, a combination of strong interest in the field from various neighboring fields (including cultural history, media history, history of art, visual studies) and increasing fragmentation. Powerful institutions such as the Max Planck Institute for History of Science rather encourage this tendency to lose the inner core of the field, a kind of fluidization or vaporization.