Over the borders: technical history, philosophy, and the social sciences.

It might be worth while to ponder the fact that our work is part of a larger enterprise, namely the history of science in all places at all times. I would like to dwell on a simple idea, namely that there is a research frontier, a state of the art, in the history of science. I want to remind you that if we are not aware of it, it will not be aware of us. Let us, then, scout the three borders of the history of science as it is now practiced: first the border with scientific practice, then the border with history and philosophy, and then the border with the social sciences, mainly anthropology and sociology. As we survey each border region, let us see how well it is populated by scholars of Chinese science, technology, and medicine, and think about what the outcome suggests.