Social Sciences and Little Countries
When “Big” May Mean “Small” and Vice Versa
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 20206033 |
|---|---|
| Authors | J Valsiner (0000-0001-8360-8860, Clark University, corresponding author) |
| Year | 1998 |
| Volume | 2 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 120-129 |
| Publication date | 1998-02-06 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Trames Journal of the Humanities and Social Sciences (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1406-0922 • E-ISSN: 1736-7514 |
| Publisher | Estonian Academy Publishers (PUBLISHER • EE) |
| DOI | 10.3176/tr.1998.1.08 |
| OpenAlex | W4319312336 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 10 |
The state of affairs of social sciences in Estonia can be discussed from an institutional, or from knowledge-constructive perspective. I assume the latter, and claim that the evaluative aspect of where the social sciences currently are is secondary to careful examination of how scientists from small countries (and limited conditions) can innovate their areas of science in ways that surpass their colleagues from big (and affluent) countries. I am probably unable to say anything substantive about the current state of the social sciences in Estonia. And worse -it probably does not matter what is said about that topic by anybody, since talking about any science is not doing that science. For the actual state of affairs of the given science, it is the latter that matters. Talking about science is of course quite important in another way -it is a way to re-negotiate the social relationships between the institutions of sciences and of the societies within which they are embedded. This need emerges at times when the societies are undergoing change, which threatens the sciences, potentially throwing them out of their current equilibrium of relations with their social environ- ments. For some sciences at some time this disequilibration may lead to moving out of their "normal" into a "revolutionary" state (in Thomas Kuhn's terms), for others - it may lead to their extinction. Interestingly, at the time of a social turmoil of science /society relations, it is not clear which of the directions is being born. Such uncertainty obviously triggers the very human need to do what we do best -talk. Of course we at times act as well -usually in ways that lead to even more talk
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| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |