From Merton to the Edinburgh School
For the Spring, the FRG will revisit the
history of academic attempts to understand the practice of
science. We will trace, first, the rise of the sociology of
science, as exemplified by Columbia’s Robert K.
Merton in the mid-century—and then explore the
challenge to the Mertonian approach by the so-called
“Edinburgh School” in the 1970s. We will
conclude the semester with a look at the Merton and
Edingburgh legacies.
For each of the three sessions, we will read a short
primary text along with a secondary critique. In order to
better focus questions, each session will include short,
informal comments from an FRG participant, who will also
moderate our discussions.
All sessions are held in the Library’s Fulford Room,
on selected Friday, from 3pm to 4:30pm.
SESSION
ONE
Robert Merton and His Critics
Friday,
date TBA, 3pm in the Library's Fulford Room
Merton, "The Normative Structure of
Science" (1942)
Barry Barnes, Scientific Knowledge and Sociological
Theory (1974) [excerpt]
SESSION
TWO
Edinburgh and the Strong Programme
Friday,
date TBA, 3pm in the Library's Fulford Room
David Bloor,
"The Strong Programme in the Sociology of
Knowledge" (1976)
H. M. Collins and R. G. Harrison,
"Building a TEA Laser: The Caprices of
Communication" (1975)
SESSION
THREE
Assessing the Strong Programme Today
Friday,
date TBA, 3pm in the Library's Fulford Room
Dick Pels,
"The Politics of Symmetry"
(1996)
Peter Slezak, "A Second Look at David Bloor's
Knowledge and Social
Imagery" (1994)