A mocking look at the social sciences

kelley kwalker2 at gte.net
Wed Nov 22 08:46:32 PST 2000


From today's (11/22/00) online Chronicle of Higher Education

MAGAZINES & JOURNALS A glance at the November 27 issue of "Forbes": A mocking look at the social sciences

Dan Seligman, a regular contributor to the magazine, isn't sure that the world needs more social scientists. He believes that fields like anthropology, psychology, and sociology are "in desperate shape," but says that "a powerful instinct for self-preservation will see them through to another century." Mr. Seligman writes that anthropologists increasingly see themselves as activists. For example, the Web site of the American Anthropological Association is replete with position statements on issues like gay rights and violence against women "that have only the most tenuous connection to anthropology," he says. The rationale for this activist mindset, according to Mr. Seligman: "If anthropologists run out of Stone Age tribes to investigate, they will at least have some political hot buttons with which to attract undergrads to their courses." As for the field of psychology, Mr. Seligman questions the value of certain research topics that are drawing the attention of scholars. He mentions a recent American Psychological Association study centering on a large corporation where, according to the report, 60 percent of employee absences were due to psychological problems. "Like, one assumes, the angst associated with getting out of bed in the morning," writes Mr. Seligman. He scoffs at the "Doing Activist Sociology" slogan found on promotional literature at a recent convention of the American Sociological Association. In these "soft science" fields, Mr. Seligman finds "a parade of scientific method but a shortage of patents or other evidence of practical results." Still, he believes that "fuzzy science is here to stay." The article is available online at http://www.forbes.com/forbes/2000/1127/6614086a.html



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