Science Studies in the 1990s

I am delighted to receive the J. D. Bernal award, to be in the Netherlands where I lived for a year some 30 years ago, and also to have the opportunity to comment on some of the changes in our field since the first meeting of the Society for Social Studies of Science (4S) in 1976. I wrote about that meeting in the 4S newsletter, and at that time I said that the papers had focused almost entirely on the dynamics of the scientific community, virtually ignoring the social, political, and ideological aspects of science. I suggested that the field needed far greater diversity if it were to thrive. To some extent, we have this diversity today, despite persistent rumbles about strong and weak programs and about the relative virtues of internal versus external perspectives. For example, over the last few years, studies of the construction of scientific facts have proliferated, opening new questions about objectivity and the influences on scientific research. Yet, the concept of social is still mainly defined in terms of the interactions and discourse among scientists. Moreover, the field is still turned inward, into itself, creating its own language with too little reference to the outside world. There are still relatively few studies concerned with those aspects of science emphasized by Bernal-namely, its relations outside the laboratory context. Rare are the studies that focus on the ideologies embedded in science because of its political and economic relationships, and its proximity to centers of power. So, let me take this unusual opportunity to play the elder statesperson, and, in keeping with the theme of the conference, talk about several issues that I believe will become important for those of us

Climate Change Communication and Perception · Education, Healthcare and Sociology Research · History · Interdisciplinary Research and Collaboration

• The Production and Reception of Scientific Papers in the Academic-Industrial Complex

  John Abraham•British Journal of Sociology•1995

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• The Social Warp of Science

  Open Access•Wright, Susan Wright•Science Technology & Human Values•1993

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• Bias in Science and Medical Knowledge

  Open Access•John Abraham•Sociology•1994

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• Micro-anatomo politics

  Open Access•Michael J Flower, Deborah Heath•Culture Medicine and Psychiatry•1993

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