Amateur writers in the journals of three Finnish learned societies 1841–1939
Abstract
This paper examines the role of amateur writers in the journals of three Finnish learned societies, from the beginning of these journals in the 1840s until 1939. Amateur contribution was widely appreciated in the nineteenth century – partly due to the old egalitarian tradition of the learned community called the Republic of Letters, partly due to the patriotic spirit in the societies. Furthermore, amateurs were needed in the research because there were few academic professionals. During the period, research was professionalised as new professorships and research institutions were founded. The peer review processes were developed in the journals of the learned societies, and the share of amateurs diminished at the turn of the century and during the interwar period. The societies tried to give amateurs a new role in collecting the material needed in the research, but many amateurs considered this role inferior to writing. In this paper, quantitative material concerning amateur writers is discussed with three case studies which illuminate the attitudes of amateurs and the academic community.
Keywords: academic publishing; scientific journals; amateurs; history of science and learning
