我国科技史研究的拓展与适应——以自然科学史研究所的转变为例

Expansions and Adaptations of Chinese Studies in the History of Science and Technology:The Change of CAS Institute for the History of Natural Sciences

20世纪90年代末以来,我国科技史学科不断拓展研究方向,积极适应社会需求,在研究方向、学术问题、研究范式、国际合作等方面经历着一个转变期。研究领域发生"从传统到现代、从中国到世界"的拓展,开辟传统工艺与科技考古、科技发展战略及相关理论、科学与人文的整合、科研机构史、中外科技发展比较等应用和交叉方向。我国学者更加注重研究新的学术问题,更多地借鉴哲学、社会学、科学技术研究、考古学、人类学和民俗学等学科的理论与方法,采用先进的信息技术与实验手段,尝试跨学科、跨文化的团队式国际合作研究。

Since the end of 1990s,Chinese historians of science and technology,such as those at the IHNS,have constantly beenexpanding research fields and adapting to social wants.They are changing this discipline in such aspects as research fields,questions,paradigms and international cooperation.They have been researching not only into traditional Chinese knowledge,but also into modemscience and technology in the world.They have paid more attention to traditional Chinese techniques and arts,as well as scientificarchaeology.They have started to make a study of scientific policy and strategy,the relationship between science and humanity,thehistory of Chinese Academy of Sciences,the comparison of Chinese knowledge with Western science and technology.In order toexplain the development of knowledge,they may make use of theories of philosophy,sociology,STS,archaeology,anthropology,folklore,as well as advanced information technology.They have tried to cooperate with international research groups to makecross-cultural and cross-disciplinary studies of science and technology,as well as the transmission of science in history..