As a major activity to mark the 350th anniversary of the Philosophical Transactions, the world's oldest scientific journal, the Royal Society hosted a history of science conference in spring 2015. At a time when the future of scientific publishing is in flux, this conference took the long perspective by examining the transformations and challenges in scientific journal publishing over the last three and a half centuries, and into the future.
The conference featured contributions from scholars from across the globe, presenting research on all aspects of scientific journals from the seventeenth century to the twenty-first – their production, editorial practices, techniques of illustration, patterns of dissemination, reading, reception, and commercial viability, and how these varied with place and time.
Visit the Publishing the Philosophical Transactions project page for more details, or see the draft schedule.
Participants include:
Dr Melinda Baldwin (Harvard University)
Dr Alex Csiszar (Harvard University)
Dr Aileen Fyfe (University of St Andrews)
Prof. Adrian Johns (University of Chicago)
Dr Sachiko Kusukawa (University of Cambridge)
Dr James Mussell (University of Leeds)
Prof. Jeanne Peiffer (Centre Alexandre Koyré, Paris)
Prof. Jim Secord (University of Cambridge)
Evening Programme
Thursday 19 March 2015, 17:30-19:00
The experience of scientific publishing: A public oral history event
Friday 20 March 2015, 17:30-19:00
The future of scientific publishing: Roundtable discussion
Additionally, The Royal Society hosted an anniversary exhibition curated by the conference team, Philosophical Transactions at 350
Enquiries: Contact the conference team
