Defines and explains organizational and conceptual problems encountered by practitioners of academic history today. An argument is presented for more systematic and self-conscious links between academic history and other academic disciplines that use historical data extensively. (Author/DB)

During the last decade there has been an explosion of institutions of higher learning and research throughout India focusing on various aspects of development and on the social sciences. The development of ideas concerning social science research and its priorities as part of India's intellectual history are discussed. (RM)

Distinguishes between different kinds of positivism. Describes three logical positivist doctrines (physicalism, operationalism, and the unity of science) which became interwoven into the behaviorist rhetoric of the 1940s and 1950s. Argues that despite the historical influence of positivist texts, other epistemologies, especially constructivist and…

Analyzes the development of social sciences in Ireland. Pays particular attention to their history, relationship to society, training opportunities, and international cooperation. (JDH)

Discusses the life and career of Joachim Wach, a proponent of comparative study of religion (CSR). Reports that Wach envisioned "Religionwissenschaft," a unitary science taking a systematic approach to the study of religion using elements of theology, philosophy, and social science. Presents Wach's "basic and eternal" questions…

This report summarizes a survey into the governance, use, and support of the behavioral and social sciences in the United States for the last 40 years. The document contains sections which deal with: (1) some major aspects in the history of the relationship between the federal government and the behavioral and social sciences; (2) major fields of…

Reviews the history of the social sciences in America, indicating that the field is still chiefly a collection of topics, albeit important ones such as mental hospitals, child development, and eugenics. Also indicates that although source materials are vast, synthetic overviews are needed in a number of areas. (JN)

The article traces the history of the social sciences and shows how they developed their modern form in Western universities. It argues that they are undermining rather than supporting democratic order and suggests that universities, with their commitment to truth and freedom of thought, can transform such disciplines into worthwhile entities. (SM)

Discusses views of various scholars regarding the current difficulties of history as an academic discipline. Particular emphasis is placed on the works of Don Karl Rowney (Bowling Green State University) and Timothy Donnovan (University of Arkansas) who stress that history's form reveals history's function. (DB)

Personal recollections of the University of Chicago in the early 1930s, particularly of social science professors Frank Knight, Robert Park, Louis Wirth, Talcott Parsons, and Harold Lasswell. (SJL)

This special issue contains: (1) an eight-page bibliography of print resources designed to aid social studies teachers with their professional growth and practice; (2) the results of a state-wide curriculum survey; (3) a 10-page list of resource organizations and people; (4) a collection of forms for textbook evaluation; and (5) California Council…

Discusses contributions of E. O. Wilson and others to the development of sociobiology. Considers sociobiology's origins, the study of social behavior, the inclusive fitness theory of behavior, haplodiploidy, reciprocal altruism, ecological perspectives, species richness, social evolution, societal explanations for infanticide, sociobiology and the…

Early stages of the development of educational philosophy in the United States involved the social reform movement of the 1890s, populism, progressivism, social science, literary history, muckraking, Hull House, and the work of Herbert Spencer and John Dewey. (SK)

Provides a brief history of social sciences in Canada, dividing it into three periods: from early years up to 1960, from 1960 to 1970, and from 1970 to the present. Includes sections on the relation of social sciences to Canadian society and international cooperation. Provides two appendices which list social science journals and scholarly…

Examines the career of Robert Hutchins, dean of the Yale Law School and later president of the University of Chicago, and his shift from advocating a curriculum based on the social sciences to one based on philosophy and the great books. (DM)