Overcoming the Two Cultures: Science versus the Humanities in the Modern World-System (Fernand Braudel Center Series)

This book tells the story of how the very idea of two cultures-the so-called divorce between science and the humanities-was a creation of the modern world-system. The contributors, working from a common research framework, trace the divorce of "facts" and "values" as part of the transition from feudalism to capitalism. This led to a polarization between universalist "science" and the particularist "humanities" and finally to the creation of the social sciences as an uneasy intermediary in this epistemological debate. The book addresses the contemporary attempts to overcome the division between the two cultures that emerge from science, feminism, race and ethnic studies, cultural studies, and ecology, ending with an analysis of the culture wars and the science wars. Contributors: Volkan Aytar, Ay,se Betul Celik, Mauro Di Meglio, Mark Frezzo, Ho-fung Hung, Biray Kolloupglu K3/4rl3/4, Agustin Lao- Montes, Eric Mielants, Boris Stremlin, Sunaryo, Norihisa Yamashita, Deniz Yukeseker. Introduction : The Two Cultures / Richard E. Lee And Immanuel Wallerstein -- Historical Construction Of The Two Cultures -- Constructing Authority : The Rise Of Science In The Modern World / Boris Stremlin -- Reaction And Resistance : The Natural Sciences And The Humanities, 1789-1945 / Eric Mielants -- The Social Sciences And Alternative Disciplinary Models / Mauro Di Meglio -- The Ambivalent Role Of Psychology And Psychoanalysis / Mark Frezzo -- Orientalism And Area Studies : The Case Of Sinology / Ho-fung Hung -- Contemporary Challenges In And To The Structures Of Knowledge -- Complexity Studies / Richard E. Lee -- Science Studies / Norihisa Yamashita -- The Cultural Turn In The Social Sciences And Humanities / Biray Kolluoglu Kirli And Deniz Yükseker -- Gender : Feminism And Women's Studies / Volkan Aytar And Ayşe Betül Çelik -- Regional Categories Of Analysis : Latin/o Americanisms / Agustín Lao-montes -- Environment And Ecology : Concepts And Movements / Sunaryo -- The Culture Wars And The Science Wars / Richard E. Lee. Richard E. Lee And Immanuel Wallerstein, Coordinators ; With Volkan Aytar ... [et Al.]. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 205-240) And Index.

Sociologists from around the world who were members of the Research Working Group on the Structures of Knowledge, based in Binghamton University, Britain, explore the historical process by which the fundamental knowledge structures—the epistemological presuppositions—of the humanities and the sciences diverged, survey and contemporary challenges in and to the structures of knowledge. Annotation ©2004 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

Explores the split between science and the humanities, what caused it, and the cultures that have grown out of it.