History of scholarship

Not to be confused with history of human thought.

The history of scholarship is the historical study of fields of study which are not covered by the English term "science" (cf., history of science), but are covered by, for example, the German term "Wissenschaft" (i.e., all kinds of academic studies). Examples are the history of classical studies, the history of the study of religions, of philosophy, of Biblical studies, of historiography, of the study of music, the study of arts, the study of literature etc. It is a field which has recently undergone a complete renewal and is now a major branch of research.^[1] In 2015, the Society for the History of the Humanities was established, coinciding with the launch of the journal History of Humanities in 2016. Both developments reflect the field’s growing institutional presence and international scholarly collaboration.^[2]

"A Scholar at his Desk"; Jan Steen, c. 1668-1669

A Scholar at his Desk; Rembrandt; 1631

"A Scholar Seated at a Desk"; Rembrandt

Classical scholarship

Rudolph Pfeiffer (1968)^[3] describes the history of classical scholarship from its revival inspired by Petrarch to the achievements of the Italian humanists and the idependent movement in Holland (including Erasmus) and the German scholar-reformers. Pfeiffer traces the development of classical scholarship in the countries of Western Europe through the next two Centuries, with particular attention to sixteenth-century France and eighteenth-century England. Finally he provides an account of the new approach made by Winckelmann and his successors in Germany.

Joseph Scaliger^[4][5] -->

Philosophers, scholars, polymaths, and scientists

The word scientist was coined by the English philosopher and historian of science William Whewell in 1833. Until then there was no differentiation between the history of science, the history of philosophy and the history of scholarship.^[6][7]

Before 1700 the fields of scholarship were not of a size that made academic specialisation necessary.^{[citation needed]} Academic disciplines as we know them today did not exist.^{[citation needed]} In general scholars were both scientists and scholars in what today is termed Arts and Humanities.^{[citation needed]}

See also

• Art history
• Cultural history
• Historiography
• History of archaeology
• History of books
• History of education
• History of European research universities
• History of ideas
• History of knowledge
• History of mathematics
• History of science
• History of writing
• Human science
• Intellectual history
• Medieval university
• Scholarly method