THE PUBLIC VALUE OF THE SOCIAL SCIENCES: AN INTERPRETIVE ESSAY
Book ID/图书代码： 02000013B61495
English Summary/英文概要： John Brewer explores the essential nature of the social sciences and the ways in which notions of ’impact’ and ’value’ could be reframed to generate a more productive debate around their contribution to the good of society. The argument is presented in the form of an interpretive essay, thought-provoking, forward-looking, and challenging to intellectual orthodoxy. It is interspersed with boxed vignettes illustrating different interpretations of ’value’ within the social sciences.
The book’s premise is that two threats to social science currently loom large. The first is the global university crisis, epitomized, particularly in the UK, by the audit culture in higher education. Brewer argues that this should be seen as an opportunity to empower the field by reframing it as a new form of ’public social science’ with a commitment to promote the public good through teaching and research. The second perceived threat is the ’impact agenda’. Though ’impact’ may be relatively easy to demonstrate the author argues it is a flawed concept in any bid to measure value. The debate needs to be moved on from the concept of ’public impact’ to a more productive one of ’public value’.
This book is an essential and thought-provoking contribution to a crucial contemporary debate and should be read by all researchers and teachers in the social sciences who are concerned by the future of higher education in their disciplines.
Chinese Summary/中文概要： 約翰•布魯爾（John Brewer）一直在探索社會科學的本性以及“影響”和“價值”的概念究竟如何被重新認識，才能引起公眾對這些概念對整個社會產生的作用方面展開更富有成效的討論。論據以一種解釋性的論文的形式呈現出來，發人深省，頗具遠見，敢於挑戰傳統思維。文中有許多小插圖，這有助於在社會科學 的範疇裡分析“價值”的不同定義。
本書的前提是，有可能對社會科學造成挑戰的兩個重大威脅近期有加大之勢。第一個就是全球大學危機，本書特別以英國高等教育裡的審計文化為例。布魯爾認為，這可以被視為一次機會去加強這個領域，具體的方法是將其改造成“公眾社會科學”，並承諾通過教學和研究來推進公眾利益。第二個威脅是“影響的日程”。儘管“影響”可能相對來說比較易於分析，作者也認為任何試圖評估價值的努力都是不完美的。討論需要從“公眾影響”的概念提升到“公眾價值”的層面。
本書對當代關鍵的這次討論來說極為重要，也發人深省，值得讓所有研究社會科學並和高等教育的未來命運休戚與共的學者和老師們來閱讀。
Awards/获奖情况：社會科學是用科學的方法，研究人類社會的種種現象。如社會學研究人類社會（主要是當代），政治學研究政治、政策和有關的活動，經濟學研究資源分配。廣義的“社會科學”，是人文學科和社會科學的統稱。
社會科學起源於西元1930年出版的社會科學百科全書（Encyclopaedia of the Social Sciences），其內容包含了社會學、人類學、經濟學、法學、政治學、犯罪學、哲學、生物學、地理學、醫學、教育學、心理學、語言學、倫理學、藝術、社會工作學及法律學等等與社會科學概論相關的一門學科。
Anyone interested in defending the role of the social sciences should read this book. It is the most sophisticated analysis of their role in contemporary Britain. Sir Steve Smith, Vice-Chancellor, University of Exeter, UK An excellent book that I found both important and engaging. John Scott, Plymouth University, UK Challenging, important, timely, and critical, The Public Value of the Social Sciences is a must read for anyone concerned with the future of humanity Michael Burawoy, University of California, Berkeley, USA John Brewer asks the right questions: What is the public value of social science and when does it have the most public value. His approach is neither defensive nor celebratory, nor is this yet another complaint about underfunding. Brewer is appropriately critical and also clear that social science can achieve its full potential only if it changes. His perspective is thoughtful, historically informed, and attentive to the specificities of Britain. Not all will agree, but all should think about the questions. Craig Calhoun, Director, London School of Economics, UK
About the Author/作者介绍： 約翰•D•布魯爾（John D. Brewer）是六世紀亞伯丁大學的一個社會學教授，他曾在耶魯大學聖約翰學院（St John’s College）、牛津大學、劍橋克爾普斯極度學院和澳大利亞國家大學社會科學研究學院（the Research School of Social Sciences at the Australian National University）遊學。直到2012年，他曾經都是英國社會學協會（the British Sociological Association）的主席，同時還是人文和社會學科愛爾蘭研究委員會的管理委員會的成員。John D. Brewer is Sixth-Century Professor of Sociology at Aberdeen University. He has held visiting appointments at Yale University, St John’s College, Oxford, Corpus Christi College Cambridge and the Research School of Social Sciences at the Australian National University. He was, until 2012, President of the British Sociological Association and a member of the Governing Council of the Irish Research Council for Humanities and Social Science.
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