Abstract

Until recently, in Germany general history lived with the history of science in a peaceful coexistence which was the result of their mutual ignorance. The debates on the integration of social and cultural theories and methods into both disciplines have offered opportunities for a new convergence of general history and history of science. The basic assumption of social constructionism that science does not produce knowledge independant from time and space, has offered new possibilities to link history of science with the discourse of general history. This article will argue that the biographical method, the theory of national innovation systems, institutional history and cultural history are among the most promising approaches to ensure that scholarly coexistence will be replaced by convergence.