Shapin, Steven2009-08-192005Shapin, Steven. 2005. Hyperprofessionalism and the crisis of readership in the history of science. Isis 96(2): 238-2430021-1753http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:3219883There is a crisis of readership for work in our field, as in many other academic disciplines. One of its causes is a pathological form of the professionalism that we so greatly value. "Hyperprofessionalism" is a disease whose symptoms include self-referentiality, self-absorption, and a narrowing of intellectual focus. This essay describes some features and consequences of hyperprofessionalism in the history of science and offers a modest suggestion for a possible cure.en-US10.1086/431535