The public value of the social sciences : : an interpretive essay / / John D. Brewer.

• VerfasserIn: Brewer, John D.,
• Place / Publishing House: London : : Bloomsbury Academic,, 2013.
• Year of Publication: 2013
• Language: English
• Physical Description: 1 online resource (241 p.)
• Notes: Description based upon print version of record.

"How can social science make itself relevant to the intractable problems facing humanity in the twenty-first century? The social sciences are under threat from two main sources. One is external, reflected in a global university crisis that imposes the marketization of higher education on the ancient practice of scholarship. The other, internal threat is social science's withdrawal from publicly-engaged teaching and research into the protective bunker of disciplinarity. In articulating a vision for the public role of social science in the twenty-first century, John Brewer argues that these threats also constitute an opportunity for a new public social science to emerge, confident in its public value and fully engaged with the future of humanity in its teaching, research and civic responsibilities, while also remaining committed to science. The argument is presented in the form of an interpretive essay: thought-provoking, forward-looking, and challenging to intellectual orthodoxy. It should be read and debated by all researchers and teachers in the social science disciplines who are concerned by the future of higher education and the relevance of their subjects to the future of humankind."--Bloomsbury Publishing.

Table of Contents

Title Page; Comments on this book; Copyright Page; Contents; About the Author; Preface and Acknowledgements; Introduction; Why write this book?; Why an interpretative essay?; What is the public value of the social sciences?; What is the organization of this essay?; Chapter 1 What is Social Science?; Introduction; What is 'social' about social science?; What is 'science' about social science?; So what is social science?; Disciplinarity and disciplinary closure in the social sciences; Conclusion; Chapter 2 What is the Scale and Standing of British Social Science?; Introduction

What is the scale of the social sciences in Britain?What is the standing of British social science?; Where have all the giants gone?; What is the general impact of the social sciences?; Conclusion; Chapter 3 What is the Threat Faced by the Social Sciences?; Introduction; What is the impact of impact?; The march of the market; Conclusion; Chapter 4 What is the Public Value of Social Science?; Introduction; The feasibility of impact in social science research; The undesirability of impact in the social sciences; From the public impact to the public value of social science; What is value?

A cautionary noteSo what is the public value of social science?; Conclusion; Chapter 5 What is the New Public Social Science?; Introduction; What is traditional social science?; So what is the new public social science?; Conclusion; Conclusion: A Social Science for the Twenty-First Century?; Further Reading and Select Bibliography; Further reading; Bibliography; Index