Social Studies of Science: sociological perspectives of the social demarcation of scientific knowledge

• Grant number: 13/12895-2
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Post-doctor
• Start date: November 01, 2013
• End date: October 31, 2014
• Field of knowledge: Humanities - Sociology - Other specific Sociologies
• Principal Investigator: Leila da Costa Ferreira
• Grantee: Marcelo Fetz de Almeida
• Supervisor: Steven Yearley
• Host Institution: Núcleo de Estudos e Pesquisas Ambientais (NEPAM). Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Campinas , SP, Brazil
• Institution abroad: University of Edinburgh, Scotland
• Associated to the scholarship: 12/16899-0 - Demarcations in crisis: the second Scientific Revolution and the 19th century science in Brazil, BP.PD

Abstract

The Social Studies of Science are a central field of the contemporary sociological dialogue, expanding the limit of the scientific knowledge critical analysis. The genesis of this important thought tradition is directly connected to the intellectual leadership of a group of social scientists at the University of Edinburgh during the 60s, responsible for the rise of the so called Science Studies Unit with the main concern of creating a systematical comprehension of the meaning connections between scientific knowledge and the social world. Therefore, we present in this research project a study proposal of the institutionalization process and the strengthening of the sociological thought elaborated by the intellectuals of the Strong Programme in the Sociology of Scientific Knowledge developed at the University of Edinburgh. Understanding the Edinburgh School as a central component of the Crisis of Scientific Boundaries process, as observed during the second half of the twentieth century, we aim to contribute with the critical study of the new ways of sociological interpretations of the scientific thought and with the critical analysis of the establishment of moderns scientific activities. (AU)