Related Experiment Video
Updated: Apr 3, 2026

Recording Behavioral Responses to Reflection in Crayfish
Published on: May 14, 2010
The future historian: Reflections on the archives of contemporary sciences
1University of California Los Angeles, Department of History and Institute for Society and Genetics, 6265 Bunche Hall, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1473, USA.
Abstract:
Historians working on recent science work close to where the archives are created or become accessible. Based on this experience, the essay presents a reflection on the archives of contemporary life sciences. It addresses three questions: firstly, what is special about the archival situation of contemporary sciences? Secondly, which sources do contemporary historians use and what opportunities and challenges do they offer? And finally, what potential changes to the archives of contemporary sciences are we witnessing? The essay draws a distinction between, on the one side, the history of science when the actors are still alive-a situation that presents a particular set of issues in respect to the available sources-and, on the other side, questions relating specifically to the life sciences at the turn of the millennium--a period which will eventually not be considered as 'contemporary' any more. It reviews changes in scientific practice, historiographical trends and archival practices and considers the place of paper records, digital sources, material artefacts and oral sources in the archives of contemporary sciences. It argues that the commercialisation and privatisation of science may prove a bigger problem for the future historian than the shift to the digital medium. It concludes by welcoming the closer interactions between scientists, historians, curators and archivists prompted by recent developments.
Related Concept Videos
Archival Research
Psychology as a Science
The scientific method in psychology involves six critical steps: making observations, formulating hypotheses, conducting tests, analyzing...
Total Internal Reflection Fluorescence Microscopy
Interference and Diffraction
Scanning Electron Microscopy
Fundamental Principles
Accelerated...
Contemporary Psychology
Biopsychology
Biopsychology, also known as biological psychology or behavioral neuroscience, focuses on the biological underpinnings of behavior and mental processes. It...

