Social Stratification in Science [by] Jonathan R. Cole & Stephen Cole

Social Stratification in Science [by] Jonathan R. Cole & Stephen Cole PDF Author: Jonathan R. Cole
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 283

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Social Stratification in Science [by] Jonathan R. Cole & Stephen Cole

Social Stratification in Science [by] Jonathan R. Cole & Stephen Cole PDF Author: Jonathan R. Cole
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 283

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Book Description


Social Stratification in Science

Social Stratification in Science PDF Author: Jonathan R. Cole
Publisher: Chicago : University of Chicago Press
ISBN: 9780226113388
Category : Physicists
Languages : en
Pages : 283

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Smoother Pebbles

Smoother Pebbles PDF Author: Jonathan R. Cole
Publisher: Columbia University Press
ISBN: 023155947X
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 711

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Book Description
Until the middle of the twentieth century, few thought of science as a social system, instead seeing scientific discovery as the work of individual geniuses. Columbia University’s Department of Sociology played a pivotal role in advancing the social study of science. Researchers of the “Columbia Program” analyzed how science works as a social institution, exploring its norms, values, and structure. Smoother Pebbles presents a collection of essays authored or coauthored by Jonathan R. Cole, a leading Columbia Program figure, that trace the development and institutionalization of the sociology of science. Spanning from the 1960s to the 2020s and including both empirical and theoretical studies of science, the book is at once wide-ranging and united by core questions. Are scientists rewarded for the merits of their work or for other reasons? How does the system of social stratification in science operate? Has the funding of scientists been the result of an “old boys’ network”? How fair is the peer review process? In what ways does science fall short of its universalistic ideals? What factors have constrained opportunities for women in science? How has science fared amid attacks on academic freedom and free inquiry at universities? Cole’s introduction contextualizes both individual essays and the major concerns of the Columbia Program. Smoother Pebbles is essential reading for those interested in the growth and crucial questions of the sociology and social studies of science.

What's Wrong with Sociology?

What's Wrong with Sociology? PDF Author: Stephen Cole
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1351326341
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 458

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Book Description
Since the 1950s sociology has experienced a decline in prestige when compared with the other social sciences. In some highly publicized cases some universities have retrenched their sociology departments, others are contemplating either retrenchment or downsizing of their departments. Although there are some practitioners of the discipline who believe that it has never been in better shape, many sociologists have come to believe that there are very serious problems both in the cognitive and social organization of the discipline. This book contains sixteen essays by sociologists who believe that their discipline faces very serious problems which must be overcome if the discipline is to survive and prosper. The contributors were selected to represent diverse views and thus there is substantial disagreement among them over what the problems are that sociology faces and how they may be remedied. In this highly provocative book readers is likely to find some essays they agree with and others they disagree with; but all the essays present important problems faced by the discipline which must be addressed.Although the authors of the sixteen essays do not agree on what is wrong with the discipline, there are some themes which appear frequently. In his introduction Cole summarizes and comments on these themes. His introduction centers on the question of whether sociology is entirely socially constructed. Is what we believe to be true about society constrained by empirical evidence or is it a result of our ideology, power, authority, and other social processes? One theme which appears in many of the essays is that sociology has become too ideological and as a result has lost credibility among university administrators, politicians and the general public. Many of the essays also stress the view that there are very low levels of consensus in sociology and that it is hard to see evidence of progress. Others criticize the discipline for not dealing with the really important social issues and see much of the work published as being parochial and trivial. Questions are also raised about why the use of causal models has failed to generate solutions to most of the problems the discipline addresses. Some authors believe that the discipline adheres to an overly rational model of human behavior and has failed to keep up with some of the advances introduced by post-modernist theories.This highly readable set of essays should be of interest to all those are concerned about the current state of sociology. They will also be useful in introducing graduate students to some of the most important issues currently being debated in the field.Stephen Cole is currently professor of sociology at the State University of New York at Stony Brook and professor of sociology at the University of Queensland, Australia. He is the author of Making Science: Between Nature and Society, and with Jonathan R. Cole, Social Stratification in Science.

Social Stratification in Science

Social Stratification in Science PDF Author: Jonathan R. Cole
Publisher: Chicago : University of Chicago Press
ISBN: 9780226113388
Category : Physicists
Languages : en
Pages : 283

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Making Science

Making Science PDF Author: Stephen Cole
Publisher: Harvard University Press
ISBN: 9780674543478
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 316

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Book Description
The sociology of science is dominated today by relativists who boldly argue that the content of science is not influenced by evidence from the empirical world but is instead socially constructed in the laboratory. Making Science is the first serious critique by a sociologist of the social constructivist position. Stephen Cole begins by making a distinction between two kinds of knowledge: the core, which consists of those contributions that have passed the test of evaluation and are universally accepted as true and important, and the research frontier, which is composed of all work in progress that is still under evaluation. Of the thousands of scientific contributions made each year, only a handful end up in the core. What distinguishes those that are successful? Agreeing with the constructivists, Cole argues that there exists no set of rules that enables scientists to certify the validity of frontier knowledge. This knowledge is "underdetermined" by the evidence, and therefore social factors--such as professional characteristics and intellectual authority--can and do play a crucial role in its evaluation. But Cole parts company with the constructivists when he asserts that it is impossible to understand which frontier knowledge wins a place in the core without first considering the cognitive characteristics of the contributions. He concludes that although the focus of scientific research, the rate of advance, and indeed the everyday making of science are influenced by social variables and processes, the content of the core of science is constrained by nature. In Making Science, Cole shows how social variables and cognitive variables interact in the evaluation of frontier knowledge.

The Changing Governance of the Sciences

The Changing Governance of the Sciences PDF Author: Richard Whitley
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 1402067461
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 272

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Book Description
The establishment of national systems of retrospective research evaluations is one of the most significant of recent changes in the governance of science. This volume discusses the birth and development of research evaluation systems as well as the reasons for their absence in the United States. The book combines the latest research and an overview of trends in the changing governance of research. The focus is on institutionalisation processes and impacts on knowledge production.

The Idea of Social Structure

The Idea of Social Structure PDF Author: Lewis A. Coser
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1351481207
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 547

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Book Description
Written and compiled by friends and former students, The Idea of Social Structure honors Robert K. Merton, considered one of the premier sociologists of the twentieth century. Along with Talcott Parsons and Marion J. Levy, Merton was emphatic in his use of the term "social structure"—however different they were in defining and refining the term. The chapters in this volume address many of Merton's diverse sociological theories and, in turn, his theories' impact upon a very large sociological territory. The volume includes major statements on the context of working with Merton by Lewis A. Coser, Paul F. Lazarsfeld, Robert A. Nisbet, and Seymour Martin Lipset, as well as memorable statements covering Merton's interests in the sociology of knowledge and science, planning communities, medical education, relative deprivation, everyday life, political roles, and communication media. This is a powerful sourcebook for understanding the work of Merton and of his intellectual successors. Nisbet called the decade of the 1930s among the most vital and creative periods in American history. It was certainly a period of intense struggle—political, military, and ideological. But the formation of modern sociology was without question one of the crowning achievements in the scientific evolution of the century. The volume is sharply focused on Merton's work and deeply appreciative of the nature of his contribution. It is a landmark effort in the study of sociology as history.

Beyond the Myths about the Natural and Social Sciences

Beyond the Myths about the Natural and Social Sciences PDF Author: Katarina Prpić
Publisher: Katarina Prpic
ISBN: 9536218402
Category : Research
Languages : en
Pages : 338

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Inventing the Egghead

Inventing the Egghead PDF Author: Aaron Lecklider
Publisher: University of Pennsylvania Press
ISBN: 0812244869
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 295

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Book Description
Throughout the twentieth century, popular songs, magazine articles, plays, posters, and novels alternated between representing intelligence as empowering and as threatening. In Inventing the Egghead, Aaron Lecklider cracks open this paradox by examining representations of intelligence to reveal brainpower's stalwart appeal and influence.