Research Subpoenas and the Sociology of Knowledge

Jasanoff says that the most effective way to integrate scientific knowledge fully and fairly into legal decisionmaking may be for judges to develop a keener sense of how science works

Karl Mannheim's contributions to the development of the sociology of knowledge

Karl Mannheim's work in the area of Sociology of Knowledge is generally considered to be his greatest contribution to sociological research. In his writings on the subject, the Hungarian theorist posits that a sociology of knowledge is possible and that there exists a relationship between forms of knowledge and social structure. His major contention in this respect is that ideas relating to definitions of social reality are existentially-determined. In this paper, I shall attempt to provide an exposition of Mannheim's ideas regarding the existential determination of knowledge, taking into account: (a) the various schools of thought and social factors which influenced his thinking; (b) his interpretation of the concepts of ideology and utopia; (c) the way he sought to grapple with such pertinent issues as the validity or otherwise of existentially- determined knowledge; (d) his attempts at preventing his theory from lapsing into relativistic nihilism, and finally, (e) the various criticisms levelled at his work on the Sociology of Knowledge.peer-reviewe

THE SOCIOLOGY OF KNOWLEDGE RECONSIDERED

The subject of this essay is the communicative function of ideas as a potential determinant of their meanings.http://web.ku.edu/~starjrn

Reification and Recollection: Emancipatory Intentions and the Sociology of Knowledge

Bonaparte Louis-Napoléon, Vaillant . Nominations de Recteurs. In: Bulletin administratif de l'instruction publique. Tome 13 n°153, septembre 1862. pp. 203-204

Three educational scenarios for the future : lessons from the sociology of knowledge

This review draws on social realist approaches in the sociology of knowledge and in light of them constructs three scenarios for the future of education in the next decades. The primary focus of the review is on one of the most crucial questions facing educational policy makers- the relationship between school and everyday or common sense knowledge. The different possibilities for how the school/nonschool knowledge boundaries might be approached are expressed in three scenarios - 'boundaries as given', 'a boundary-less world’ and the idea of ‘boundary maintenance as a condition for boundary crossing’. The educational implications of each are explored and the review makes the case for the third scenario. The factors likely to make one or other scenario dominate educational policy in the next 20-30 years are also considered

Jerzy Kmita’s Methodological Interpretation of Karl Marx’s Philosophy. From Ideology to Methodological Concepts

The article presents J. Kmita’s methodological interpretation of selected cognitive methods used by K. Marx. Those methods were (and I believe they still are) significant for the social sciences and the humanities, even a century after they had been developed. J Kmita’s interpretation reveals specificity of epistemic procedures carried out by the author of “Capital” and emphasizes contemporary actuality of Marx’s epistemological ideas. To achieve that aim, Kmita refers to the concepts established in the field of philosophy of science of his time. According to J. Kmita, the attractiveness of Marx’s approach lies in the opportunity to develop a methodological interpretation of Marx philosophy, which in turn enables the formation of a unique theory of science development, alternative to those provided by logical positivism, falsificationism, neopragmatism or sociology of knowledge. Such theory would combine the perspective of sociology of knowledge with an epistemological approach to the development of science

SOCIOLOGY OF KNOWLEDGE AND QUALITATIVE METHODOLOGY

The antagonism between the sociology of knowledge and standard research methods is examined in terms of the contemporary analysis of blue-collar workers. Qualitative methodology is suggested as a possible alternative to the historical research orientation that has dominated the sociology of knowledge. Conceptual and methodological suggestions designed to merge sociology of knowledge interests with qualitative methodology are offered with empirical examples drawn from a participant observation study of steel workers.http://web.ku.edu/~starjrn

RELATIVISM IN THE SOCIOLOGY OF KNOWLEDGE

This study is going to investigate the problem of relativism in the writings of Karl Mannheim and David Bloor. These two scholars are important confessors of the sociology of knowledge. Mannheim began to apply the notion of relationism instead of relativism. Some critics believed to understand this object, others talked about the lack of real differences. My first aim is to differentiate these notions and to provide acceptable reasons why Mannheim chose relationism. The second question I want to answer is what David Bloor meant by relativism. Is he a traditional relativist, or does he use the methodology of relationism though he is not explicit about it