In 1954, the British biochemist Joseph Needham published the first instalment of Science and Civilisation in China with Cambridge University Press, a book that attracts and frustrates historians of science, medicine, and technology in equal measure. Current reflections on the state of play in these fields address the themes, methods, and approaches that Needham took seriously and, in many cases, pioneered.

In these essays published in ISIS, "History of Science, Technology, and Medicine: A Second Look at Joseph Needham," Director Dagmar Schäfer and Visiting Scholar Florence Hsia take a second look at Joseph Needham, probing the contributions that his work can still make to ongoing debates.

The Isis publication will be complemented by an upcoming volume of Technology & Culture.