The Politics of Social Science Research

This book addresses some of the key questions facing contemporary social scientists. What is the point of our research? Who undertakes it? Does it have any impact on the social world it attempts to characterize: if so, what? It does so by focusing on international research on identity and inequality grounded in 'race' and ethnic difference. The contributors to the volume ask searching questions about the politics of research funding, the empowerment of minorities, and the prospects for meaningful change.

Autorentext

WALTER R. ALLEN Professor of Sociology, University of California, Los Angeles DIPANNITA BASU Assistant Professor of Sociology and Black Studies, Pitzer College, Claremont, USA HASSAN BOUSETTA Research Associate, Faculty of Political and Social Science, Katholieke Universiteit Brussels MILENA DAVIDOVIC Researcher, Institute of Social Sciences, Centre for Sociological Research, Belgrade VICKI L. HESLI Associate Professor of Political Science and Director of Graduate CHRISTINE INGLIS Director, Multicultural Research Centre, Faculty of Education, University of Sydney BRIAN KESSEL Undergraduate Advisor, Department of Political Science, Western Illinois University MARCO MARTINIELLO Research Associate, National Fund for Scientific Research and Lecturer in Politics, University of Liège MARK ORKIN Head of Statistics South Africa PETER RATCLIFFE Reader in Sociology, University of Warwick JAN RATH Associate Professor, Institute for Migration and Ethnic Studies, University of Amsterdam RUPERT TAYLOR Senior Lecturer in Political Studies, University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg

Inhalt

Preface Notes on the Contributors PART I: TOWARDS A SOCIOLOGY OF THE SOCIOLOGY OF 'RACE', ETHNICITY AND NATION Sociology, the State and Social Change: Theoretical Considerations; P.Ratcliffe The Color Line and Sociology; D.Basu PART II: NON-EUROPEAN SOCIETIES: HISTORIES ROOTED IN SLAVERY, APARTHEID AND GENOCIDE Whatever Tomorrow Brings: African American Families and Government Policy; W.R.Allen The Racialisation of Social Scientific Research on South Africa; R.Taylor & M.Orkin Independence, Incorporation and Policy Research: An Australian Case Study; C.Inglis PART III: WESTERN EUROPEAN SOCIETIES: EX-COLONIAL POWERS 'Race' and Ethnicity Research in Britain: Key Ethical and Political Considerations; P.Ratcliffe A Dutch Treat? Ethnic Minorities Researchers, Their Rejection of Marxism and Their Political Nexus; J.Rath Is There a Belgian School of Ethnic and Migration Studies?; M.Martiniello & H.Bousetta PART IV: EASTERN EUROPE, SOCIALIST AND POST-SOCIALIST SOCIETIES Social Change and Sociological Research on the 'Nation' Issue in Yugoslavia; M.Davidovic The State and Social Science Research in Russia; V.L.Hesli & L.Kessel Index