This series of handbooks is devoted to the study of the rich and complex his-
tory of the relationship between literature and science, from medieval times

to the present moment. While this is a topic not unknown to literary criti-
cism (especially in the middle years of the 20th century), the work assembled

in these five volumes represents a fundamentally new approach to the vital
story of the interconnectedness of literature and science, an approach that is
grounded firmly upon an understanding of the status of both literature and
science as discourses dedicated to the production of knowledge.