Defining textile technology as a scientific discipline: a historical perspective

The launch of the Transactions in 1923, exclusively for the publication of original scientific work, consolidated the standing of the Journal of the Textile Institute as a scholarly periodical, although the timing was fortuitous, reflecting the needs of the industrial research associations, then new...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inJournal of the Textile Institute Vol. 114; no. 6; pp. 877 - 888
Main Author Jackson, Kenneth C.
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Manchester Taylor & Francis 03.06.2023
Taylor & Francis Ltd
Subjects
curriculum
Education
fibre science
fibrous assembly
Higher education
Industrial research
neglect of science
practical man
taxonomy
Textile technology
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Summary:The launch of the Transactions in 1923, exclusively for the publication of original scientific work, consolidated the standing of the Journal of the Textile Institute as a scholarly periodical, although the timing was fortuitous, reflecting the needs of the industrial research associations, then newly established in the UK following the 'neglect of science' controversy in 1916. The burgeoning output of papers from this source in turn acted as a major competitive stimulus for the transformation of textile technology in higher education from craft-based empiricism to scientific discipline, albeit incrementally. In the background was the apparent dichotomy between the industrial practitioner and the academic scientist. Higher education sought to bridge this gap while simultaneously adopting the ethos and practices of the applied science model for textile technology, thereby creating tensions internally which took many years to resolve. The paper reviews the emergence of textile technology as a scientific discipline during the inter-war years and acknowledges the defining role of the Transactions.
ISSN:0040-5000
1754-2340
DOI:10.1080/00405000.2022.2114284