On the “Isolation” of Humanists

Abstract

The invisible college has been shown to be an important part of the information environment in several scientific specialties, but humanists have been thought to work in comparative isolation. This study of 123 scholars of children's literature found an invisible college within a specialty in the humanities. Members were more highly connected than others in the field, more senior, had published more, and were more likely to have their written work listed as influential. More than 50% of all respondents indicated that at least 50% of the time they discussed their work in its early stages, discussed the specific primary sources about which they were planning to write, and found ideas for their scholarship arising out of informal communication.

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