Home – Home – Jornals – Humanitarian sciences in Siberia 2020 number

The history of science in Siberia has gone through several stages of development. The authors focus on the post-Soviet stage, when certain changes in approaches and methods to historical research in general and history of science in particular took place. Understanding the historiography of the science history as a special field concerned the process of accumulating historical knowledge in a specific social and political context that has affected the formation and development of historical thought, historians’ concepts, and topics of historical studies, the author pays attention to the context transformation. Essential for this kind of transformation is the partial de-ideologization of historical science occurred in Russia in 1990s- 2015. The paper dwells on a number of areas of the historiography of the science history in Siberia. Interpretation of the concept of “historical heritage” is particular historical importance, as it allows studying the research activities of scientists and academic schools created by them. The authors examine historiographic approaches to the concept of historical heritage in the hierarchy of cultural heritage and scientific contribution. Importantly, a new practice has evolved in humanities studies - computerization of the source base and its use in historical research; new approaches to study the history of Soviet science and education (general and specific issues) that are in the focus of the authors’ interest. Research into the history of some institutions, people and publications gives good examples of how the development of science in Siberia can be studied. Generally speaking, the historiographic analysis has demonstrated a continuing interest in the history of national science and technology. Undoubtedly, this area has received new impetus in the post-Soviet era thanks to a greater availability of some previously classified sources and introduction of new research topics, such as the Soviet atomic project, repressed science, specifics of the USSR modernization projects, ideological campaigns etc.), and new research areas, such as the social history of science.