1st Edition
Red, Black, and Objective Science, Sociology, and Anarchism
Drawing on the empirical findings generated by researchers in science studies, and adopting Kropotkin's concept of anarchism as one of the social sciences, Red, Black, and Objective expounds and develops an anarchist account of science as a social construction and social institution. Restivo's account is at once normative, analytical, organizational, and policy oriented, in particular with respect to education. With attention to the social practices and discourse of science, this book engages with the works of Feyerabend and Nietzsche, as well as philosophers and historians of objectivity to ground an anarchistic sociology of science. Marx and Durkheim figure prominently in this account as precursors of the contemporary science studies perspective on the perennial question, "What is science?" The result is an approach to understanding the science-and-society nexus that is at once an extension of Restivo's earlier work and a novel adaptation of the anarchist agenda. Red, Black, and Objective is an exploration by one of the founders of the science studies movement of questions in theory, practice, values, and policy. As such, it will appeal to those with interests in science and technology studies, social theory, and sociology and philosophy of science and technology.
Biography
Dr Sal Restivo is Professor of Sociology, Science Studies and Information Technology at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York; Special Lecture Professor in STS at Northeastern University in Shenyang, China; a former Special Professor of Mathematics Education at Nottingham University, UK; and a former Hixon/Riggs Professor of Science, Technology, and Society at Harvey Mudd College. A founder of the field of Science and Technology Studies (STS) and pioneer in ethnographic studies of science, he is a founding member and former president of the Society for Social Studies of Science and co-author of Science, Technology and Society, author of Science Society and Values, and The Sociological Worldview, and editor-in-chief of Science, Technology, and Society: An Encyclopedia.
'An unprecedented effort of reflection on the relationship between social studies of science, sociology and anarchism, enriched with extensive use of important, but hitherto neglected, international sources. A courageous proposal of renewal of both theoretical and empirical approaches in STS, profoundly grounded in studies of science and objectivity.' Alessandro Mongili, University of Padua, Italy 'Not realism or relativism, but just being realistic. Not constructivism but constructionism. Not your standard sociology of science, but an innovative anarchist theory of science. Sal Restivo reconsiders carefully our vocabulary for thinking about science and invites us to understand why 1729 is not only linked to the mathematician Ramanujan but also to the birth year of Catherina the Great.' Jean Paul Van Bendegem, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Belgium 'Recommended.' Choice
