Letter from the Editors of Osiris

Osirisa history of collaborative work and hidden laborIn 1985, Osiris was relaunched as "a research journal devoted to the history of science and its cultural influences."Since its conception by George Sarton in 1936, Osiris has been always Isis's younger sibling.Sarton's fascination with Ancient Egyptian tradition reflected his and his generation's investment in a linear story that explores and traces the origins of Western sciences from Ancient Egypt (as the pre-history) to ancient Greece to the Islamic "Middle Ages" and then to modernity through the Enlightenment and the scientific revolution.Isis, the Egyptian Goddess that became global, was a perfect symbol of this story.Osiris, the god who failed to become as internationally known, gave his name to the journal that Sarton considered to be the place of experimentation and reflection: "with hope and conviction that the history of science community needed to expand the range of its discourse, while remaining true to the standards of Isis."In a way, while Isis was to be the flagship journal that publishes cutting-edge research to the world, Osiris would take on the task of allowing historians of science to chart the future of the field or to talk to one another and about one another.The first volume after the relaunch was a perfect representation of this approach.Sally Gregory Kohlstedt and Margaret W. Rossiter edited the first volume in the journal's new incarnation.The volume was centered around "historical writings on American science" and examined the histories of the great tradition.Kohlstedt and Rossiter are, of course, key figures in our contemporary understanding of the field.In 1989, that was not exactly the case.Kohlstedt had received her PhD from UIUC only 12 years earlier but had dedicated so much time and effort to HSS and the society's Women's Caucus.Rossiter had not secured a permanent position and had just extended her contract at Cornell.Originally, she was supposed to be there for two years, but Cornell agreed to extend her tenure for one more