Essay Archives

Smith

September 1st, 2011

Political Science and the Public Sphere in the 21st Century

Submitted by Rogers M. Smith, University of Pennsylvania

Fifteen years ago, I was one of several political scientists asked to participate in an interdisciplinary conference organized by the American Academy of Arts and Sciences to analyze transformations in four disciplines over the last fifty years.{{1}} That request prompted me to become more of a student of the history of American political science, its […]

December 10th, 2009

The Public Responsibilities of Political Science

Submitted by Rogers M. Smith, University of Pennsylvania

Michael Burawoy’s 2004 American Sociological Association Presidential Address, entitled “For Public Sociology,” painted a complex picture. He delineated multiple public sociologies, particularly “traditional” public sociology, aimed at prompting discussion among mainstream publics generally, and “organic” public sociology, developed in close connection with a particular active public or, more often, “counter-public.” And he contrasted these public […]

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