Calhoun

Essay Archives

October 10th, 2009

Social Science for Public Knowledge

Submitted by Craig Calhoun, Social Science Research Council and New York University

Public engagement was a strong feature of the social sciences from their birth. Could one imagine Hobbes, Locke or the Scottish moralists as mere academics? Weber, Durkheim, and the great Chicago School sociologists had university jobs but both public concerns and public audiences. Social scientists today contribute to public understanding of issues from social inequality […]

August 4th, 2009

Remaking America: Public Institutions and the Public Good

Submitted by Craig Calhoun, Social Science Research Council and New York University

President Obama promises not just to stimulate the economy, but at the same time to remake America. He proposes to do this by making the government a more effective provider of public services and a more effective partner to private organizations that pursue the public good. His stimulus plan is an amalgam of dozens of […]