the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the editors of The Journal ofInterdisciplinary History

History and Climate: Interdisciplinary ExplorationsAuthor(s): R.I.R. and T.K.R.Source: The Journal of Interdisciplinary History, Vol. 10, No. 4, History and Climate:Interdisciplinary Explorations (Spring, 1980)Published by: The MIT PressStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/203059 .

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History and Climate: Interdisciplinary Explorations This issue completes the tenth volume of theJournal of Interdisciplinary History. Like all participants in rites of passage, we find it difficult to imagine where the years have gone, because so many of our preoccupa- tions have remained unchanged. By the time of our third and fourth issues, for example, we had groups of articles devoted to specific themes, and the fifth was given over entirely to one subject, the history of the family. Putting together such concen- trations of research on a significant subject, although difficult, has always seemed to us an especially valuable contribution to the scholarly community. It can draw attention to a field, stimulate new work, and above all promote the interaction that is our principal aim.

Accordingly, we felt it particularly appropriate to complete our tenth year with a special issue. Assessments of the state of histor- ical research might have struck a more anniversary tone (we hope to do that in the future), but it seemed more important to focus the attention of our readers on an area of interdisciplinary research which has not been systematically explored by climatologists and historians working together. The result was a conference orga- nized by theJournal and held in May, 1979. It was funded by the Humanities Division of the Rockefeller Foundation. The partici- pants included biologists, chemists, astronomers, demographers, historians, and others: specialists from sufficient disciplines to fill half a college catalogue. It was the first large-scale encounter with the natural sciences that theJournal had undertaken, and although the resultant range of reference was sweeping, important areas of common interest soon emerged. They are apparent from the articles and notes that follow.

We intend that this issue will stimulate social and natural scientists to work collaboratively and individually on problems of climate and history, and history and climate. For those con- cerned with the elucidation of the past, it is an exciting frontier for research.

R.I.R. and T.K.R.

History and Climate: Interdisciplinary Explorations This issue completes the tenth volume of theJournal of Interdisciplinary History. Like all participants in rites of passage, we find it difficult to imagine where the years have gone, because so many of our preoccupa- tions have remained unchanged. By the time of our third and fourth issues, for example, we had groups of articles devoted to specific themes, and the fifth was given over entirely to one subject, the history of the family. Putting together such concen- trations of research on a significant subject, although difficult, has always seemed to us an especially valuable contribution to the scholarly community. It can draw attention to a field, stimulate new work, and above all promote the interaction that is our principal aim.

Accordingly, we felt it particularly appropriate to complete our tenth year with a special issue. Assessments of the state of histor- ical research might have struck a more anniversary tone (we hope to do that in the future), but it seemed more important to focus the attention of our readers on an area of interdisciplinary research which has not been systematically explored by climatologists and historians working together. The result was a conference orga- nized by theJournal and held in May, 1979. It was funded by the Humanities Division of the Rockefeller Foundation. The partici- pants included biologists, chemists, astronomers, demographers, historians, and others: specialists from sufficient disciplines to fill half a college catalogue. It was the first large-scale encounter with the natural sciences that theJournal had undertaken, and although the resultant range of reference was sweeping, important areas of common interest soon emerged. They are apparent from the articles and notes that follow.

We intend that this issue will stimulate social and natural scientists to work collaboratively and individually on problems of climate and history, and history and climate. For those con- cerned with the elucidation of the past, it is an exciting frontier for research.

R.I.R. and T.K.R.

This content downloaded from 169.229.32.137 on Fri, 9 May 2014 00:30:27 AMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions