The focused interview as epistemological instrument in the recent history of science

English

Research in history of science in Bulgaria has always been closely connected with preserving the national cultural and historical heritage. It is our time that upholds the idea that creativity is a high emanation of human intellectual activity in the knowledge-based society. It is precisely the knowledge, and not only the capital, that is now considered a major driving force of development and civilization progress in a increasingly globalized society, where cultural and scientific achievements transcend their national significance to become a part of humankind’s cultural treasure.

In the end of the 1990s, in order to follow on these most perspective tendencies in our field, our Department of History of Science designed a pilot project which aim was to do video-recorded interviews with some of the most influential scientists of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences. The project was supported by the Presidium of the Academy and by implementing it we were able to preserve a fast array of ego-documents produced by some leading figures of the contemporary Bulgarian science, among them the already late A. Polikarov, A. Balevski, D. Angelov, B. Sendov, L. Iliev, Iv. Kostov, V. Hadjinikolov, etc. The richness of the information gathered this way, made our team realize that not only the beginning of a precious archive had been thereby set up, but also that work along these lines should definitely continue.

For a successful continuation of the work of 1990s we started now to building up a truly unique digital video archive of the Bulgarian science. Such database would necessarily benefit history of science research in our country, but its multidisciplinary character would mean that a long range of experts in various fields - historians, philosophers, etc. – could also use it in their studies of the national science and culture. His aim is to preserve and make available to the public the living memory of the most influential Bulgarian scientists, who have made a significant impact on our cultural heritage and shaped the ways we think about our national identity. We expect to achieve this by creating a digital video archive of their memoirs, which is to be introduced to the Bulgarian public. This is going to be a key part of the overall visual memory of our people, and will have an immense historical, cultural, and social value not only as a specific scientific archive, but also because it will make it necessary to reevaluate the significance of academic science in the context of the socially and politically important "domestic – foreign" relation and in view of our cultural identity.
Bulgarian scientists have always been especially sensitive to the question of their national identity as well as to the one about their belonging to Europe. As a matter of fact, after 1989 the will for democratic changes has always been associated with recognizing our European identity. Bulgarian intellectuals have always placed their choices with Europe, and even in the years of most severe ideological prejudice toward the West, they considered the cultural exchange with colleagues beyond the Iron Curtain an extremely vital and important one, and in this sense they acted as rare cultural mediator. It is in this context that the interviews of our pilot project show how Bulgarian scientists acted as true citizens of Europe, long before Bulgaria itself was to become a member of the European Union. realization of the project’s instruments. As results of the project w expect to demonstrate the role of a modern archive be in our age dominated by the electronic communications.The historians of science will have a direct access to valuable knowledge about esoteric aspects of scientific controversies, the ‘kitchen of the scientific research, more intimate facets of the making of knowledge, etc., which they will be now able to treat in various new ways. On its own turn, the scholarly edition of the interview texts, although falling short of being a monographic work, will contain a great deal of extremely valuable information in its introductions, commentaries and annotations becoming a sort of true encyclopedia of the contemporary Bulgarian science. The combination of varied research methods.

The paper shall use as illustrations parts of the video interviews.Air Jordan Shoes Men

Conference: 
1
Themes: 
5
Author(s): 
Erika Lazarova