''Isis'' is a quarterly
peer-reviewed
Peer review is the evaluation of work by one or more people with similar competencies as the producers of the work ( peers). It functions as a form of self-regulation by qualified members of a profession within the relevant field. Peer revie ...
academic journal
An academic journal or scholarly journal is a periodical publication in which scholarship relating to a particular academic discipline is published. Academic journals serve as permanent and transparent forums for the presentation, scrutiny, and ...
published by the
University of Chicago Press
The University of Chicago Press is the largest and one of the oldest university presses in the United States. It is operated by the University of Chicago and publishes a wide variety of academic titles, including '' The Chicago Manual of Style'' ...
. It covers the
history of science
The history of science covers the development of science from ancient times to the present. It encompasses all three major branches of science: natural, social, and formal.
Science's earliest roots can be traced to Ancient Egypt and Meso ...
,
history of medicine
The history of medicine is both a study of medicine throughout history as well as a multidisciplinary field of study that seeks to explore and understand medical practices, both past and present, throughout human societies.
More than just hist ...
, and the
history of technology
The history of technology is the history of the invention of tools and techniques and is one of the categories of world history. Technology can refer to methods ranging from as simple as stone tools to the complex genetic engineering and info ...
, as well as their cultural influences. It contains original research articles and extensive
book review
__NOTOC__
A book review is a form of literary criticism in which a book is merely described (summary review) or analyzed based on content, style, and merit.
A book review may be a primary source, opinion piece, summary review or scholarly revi ...
s and
review essays. Furthermore, sections devoted to one particular topic are published in each issue in
open access
Open access (OA) is a set of principles and a range of practices through which research outputs are distributed online, free of access charges or other barriers. With open access strictly defined (according to the 2001 definition), or libre o ...
. These sections consist of the Focus section, the Viewpoint section and the Second Look section.
History
The journal was established by
George Sarton
George Alfred Leon Sarton (; 31 August 1884 – 22 March 1956) was a Belgian-born American chemist and historian. He is considered the founder of the discipline of the history of science as an independent field of study. His most influential works ...
and the first issue appeared in March 1913. Contributions were originally in any of four European languages (English, French, German, and Italian), but since the 1920s, only English has been used. Publication is partly supported by an endowment from the
Dibner Fund
Bern Dibner (18August 18976January 1988) was an electrical engineer, industrialist, and historian of science and technology. He originated two major US library collections in the history of science and technology.
Biography
Dibner was born in Lis ...
. Two associated publications are ''
Osiris
Osiris (, from Egyptian ''wsjr'', cop, ⲟⲩⲥⲓⲣⲉ , ; Phoenician: 𐤀𐤎𐤓, romanized: ʾsr) is the god of fertility, agriculture, the afterlife, the dead, resurrection, life, and vegetation in ancient Egyptian religion. He ...
'' (established 1936 by Sarton) and the ''Isis Current Bibliography''.
The publication of the journal was interrupted in 1914 by the German invasion of Belgium during
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...
, and resumed in 1919. During
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
, publication was interrupted again in 1940 and in 1945. Since then, each year four issues (sometimes double issues) of one volume have appeared in print, and since 2002 the journal has also been published in full-text electronic format.
The ''Isis Current Bibliography'' started as ''Critical Bibliography'' and was published from the very first volume onwards. Since 1969, the ''Critical Bibliography'' was published as the fifth issue to a volume. In 1989, the name was changed to ''Isis Current Bibliography'' to reflect that, since Sarton's retirement in 1953, the bibliography had not been truly critical in the sense that each citation was commented on by an expert. It then also became a separate publication from ''Isis''. It includes citations to publications in the history of science and related fields, including books, book reviews, journal articles and more. The bibliography is the oldest and largest bibliography in the field, going back to the first issue of ''Isis'' in 1913. The ''Isis Current Bibliography'' is freely available at the website of University of Chicago Press and the IsisCB Explore website.
History of Science Society
In 1924, the
History of Science Society
The History of Science Society (HSS) is the primary professional society for the academic study of the history of science. It was founded in 1924 by George Sarton, David Eugene Smith, and Lawrence Joseph Henderson, primarily to support the publi ...
was founded by George Sarton and
Lawrence Joseph Henderson
Lawrence Joseph Henderson (June 3, 1878, Lynn, Massachusetts – February 10, 1942, Cambridge, Massachusetts) was a physiologist, chemist, biologist, philosopher, and sociologist. He became one of the leading biochemists of the early 20th cent ...
to secure the future of ''Isis''.
Journal title
In a paper ''Why Isis'', Sarton explains that the choice of the name for his journal was made rather unconsciously, after having been introduced to
Egyptology
Egyptology (from ''Egypt'' and Greek , '' -logia''; ar, علم المصريات) is the study of ancient Egyptian history, language, literature, religion, architecture and art from the 5th millennium BC until the end of its native religious ...
during a visit to the Egyptian section of the
Rijksmuseum van Oudheden
The ( English: National Museum of Antiquities) is the national archaeological museum of the Netherlands, located in Leiden. It grew out of the collection of Leiden University and still closely co-operates with its Faculty of Archaeology. Th ...
in The Netherlands.
In his paper, Sarton elaborates on the misunderstandings the name ''Isis'' can generate: in the early years, ''Isis'' was often linked to
freemasonry
Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...
, because some of their rites are purportedly of Egyptian origin. Another misinterpretation was that ''Isis'' referred to
theosophy
Theosophy is a religion established in the United States during the late 19th century. It was founded primarily by the Russian Helena Blavatsky and draws its teachings predominantly from Blavatsky's writings. Categorized by scholars of religion a ...
, most likely caused by the book entitled ''
Isis Unveiled
''Isis Unveiled: A Master-Key to the Mysteries of Ancient and Modern Science and Theology'', published in 1877, is a book of esoteric philosophy and Helena Petrovna Blavatsky's first major work and a key text in her Theosophical movement.
The ...
'' (1877) by
Helena Blavatsky
Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, uk, Олена Петрівна Блаватська, Olena Petrivna Blavatska (; – 8 May 1891), often known as Madame Blavatsky, was a Russian mystic and author who co-founded the Theosophical Society in 1875 ...
, who was the leader of the theosophic movement at that time. ''Isis'' has also been assumed to be a journal devoted to Egyptology. It is sometimes incorrectly written ''ISIS'', but using all upper-case letters suggests that the title is an acronym, which it is not; this is a particularly unfortunate mistake, since it could create an association with the militant Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, a.k.a. ISIS, a.k.a. ISIL, a.k.a. Daesh.
Editors
The following persons are or have been
editors-in-chief
An editor-in-chief (EIC), also known as lead editor or chief editor, is a publication's editorial leader who has final responsibility for its operations and policies.
The highest-ranking editor of a publication may also be titled editor, managing ...
:
Abstracting and indexing
The journal is abstracted and indexed in:
According to the ''
Journal Citation Reports
''Journal Citation Reports'' (''JCR'') is an annual publicationby Clarivate Analytics (previously the intellectual property of Thomson Reuters). It has been integrated with the Web of Science and is accessed from the Web of Science-Core Colle ...
'', the journal has a 2017
impact factor
The impact factor (IF) or journal impact factor (JIF) of an academic journal is a scientometric index calculated by Clarivate that reflects the yearly mean number of citations of articles published in the last two years in a given journal, as ...
of 1.070, ranking it 11th out of 61 journals in the category "History and Philosophy of Science" (Science edition).
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Isis (Journal)
English-language journals
History of science journals
History of medicine journals
University of Chicago Press academic journals
Publications established in 1912
Quarterly journals
1912 establishments in Belgium