A fragile power : scientists and the state / Chandra Mukerji.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Mukerji, Chandra, author.

Series:

Princeton Legacy Library

Princeton legacy library

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Science--Social aspects--United States.

Science.

Science and state--United States.

Science and state.

Research--United States--Finance.

Research.

Federal aid to research--United States.

Federal aid to research.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (268 p.)

Edition:

Course Book

Other Title:

Scientists and the state

Place of Publication:

Princeton, New Jersey : Princeton University Press, [1989]

Language Note:

In English.

Summary:

When the National Science Foundation funds research about the earth's crust and the Department of Energy supports studies on the disposal of nuclear wastes, what do they expect for their money? Most scientists believe that in such cases the government wants information for immediate use or directions for seeking future benefits from nature. Challenging this oversimplified view, Chandra Mukerji depicts a more complex interdependence between science and the state. She uses vivid examples from the heavily funded field of oceanography, particularly from recent work on seafloor hot springs and on ocean disposal of nuclear wastes, to raise questions about science as it is practiced and financed today. She finds that scientists act less as purveyors of knowledge to the government than as an elite and highly skilled talent pool retained to give legitimacy to U.S. policies and programs: scientists allow their authority to be projected onto government officials who use scientific ideas for political purposes. Writing in a crisp and jargon-free style, Mukerji reveals the peculiar mix of autonomy and dependency defined for researchers after World War II--a mix that has changed since then but that continues to shape the practical conduct of science. Scientists use their control over the scientific content of research to convince themselves of their autonomy and to achieve some power in their dealings with funding agencies, but they remain fundamentally dependent on the state. Mukerji argues that they constitute a kind of reserve force, like the Army or Navy reserves, paid by the government to do research only because science is politically essential to the workings of the modern state. This book is essential reading not only for sociologists and students of science and society, and for oceanographers, but also for every scientist whose work depends directly or indirectly on government support.Originally published in 1990.The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.

Contents:

Frontmatter

Contents

List of Illustrations

Preface

Acknowledgments

CHAPTER ONE. Scientists As an Elite Reserve Labor Force

CHAPTER TWO. The Development of State Interest in Science in the Nineteenth Century

CHAPTER THREE. War and State Funding in the Twentieth Century

CHAPTER FOUR. Managing the Scientific Labor Force

CHAPTER FIVE. Limits on the Autonomy of Soft-Money Scientists

CHAPTER SIX. Technological Dependence of Scientific Researchers

CHAPTER SEVEN. Techniques and Status in Scientific Laboratories

CHAPTER EIGHT. Expanding the Domain of Science

CHAPTER NINE. Directing Scientific Discourse

CHAPTER TEN. The Voice of Science

Notes

Bibliography

Index

Notes:

Description based on online resource; title from PDF title page (publisher's Web site, viewed 08. Jul 2019)

Description based on print version record.

Includes index.

Bibliography: pages [235]-244.

ISBN:

9781400860241

1400860245

OCLC:

884012931