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The ‘German Question’ in the History of Science and the ‘Science Question’ in German History, German History, Volume 29, Issue 4, December 2011, Pages 628–639, https://doi.org/10.1093/gerhis/ghr065
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The leading role of German-speaking Europe in developing a science and technology based modernity has long shadowed the question of the singularity of German history. Over the past two decades a rich infusion of methods from cultural history, science studies and various kinds of critical theory has transformed the historiography of German science, with the effect that both terms—‘German’ and ‘science’—can only be used advisedly. A proliferation of local studies exploring the heterogeneous cultural and scientific landscape of Germany has recently been complemented by the appearance of work that reckons with modern German science in transnational, Central European, colonial or global contexts. At the same time, the rich epistemological innovations of science studies have provided resources for a growing number of historians of modern Germany. In this issue, German History brings together an international panel of distinguished experts to reflect on these issues and recent historiography: Cornelius Borck (Lübeck), Deborah Coen (Barnard College), Paul Lerner (University of Southern California) and Lynn Nyhart (University of Wisconsin-Madison). Robert Brain (University of British Columbia) moderates the discussion.