The Collective Classic: A Case for the Reading of Science

In this essay we argue that science writing from periods of great change in science can be used productively in the classroom to advance scientific literacy. Because the success of a scientific revolution is due not only to strength of ideas, but also to the persuasive power of language, such texts are open to a broad range of readers. Specifically, we compare the scientific monograph, a common form of scientific communication prior to the 20th century, with the short paper prevalent in the late 20th century and argue that there are cases in which a small group of papers can serve the same function as a monograph. Monographs which launch scientific revolutions become classic texts for science, but what if there is no single text for a scientific revolution? We have analyzed the seminal papers for the molecular genetic revolution and for the plate tectonic revolution and show that small collections of papers serve the same purposes and use many of the same rhetorical devices as classical monographs for earlier revolutions. We also contend that these ‘collective classics’ merit a broader readership than they receive.

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