Developments in the History of Science as seen from the Vantage Point of the Journal Early Science and Medicine

In this article, the editor of Early Science and Medicine addresses a series of dilemmas facing journals in the history of science. The first is thematic: is ‘science' a result of an historical line that runs from the ancient Middle East through Greece up to the European Revolution; and if it isn't, how can a journal do justice to alternative trajectories? The second, which is related to the first, is definitional: where does one trace the boundary line between what falls within the domain of the history of ‘science' and what doesn't? The third dilemma is editorial: how does one balance the sometimes contrary criteria of scholarly versus high-impact publications? The fourth and fifth dilemmas have to do with the advent of the internet age: how is a journal editor to respond to the challenges of online and open-access publishing? The article ends with some observations on the general development of ancient, medieval and early-modern history of science and medicine. [Publisher's text]