Knowledge as a Cultural Product: From the Sociology of Scientific Knowledge to the Cultural Studies of Science

The main characteristic (feature) of the sociology of knowledge and science is its emphasis on the culture and cultural analysis within the scientific and technological research. This study concerns with the study of two research fields in which new sociologists of science and technology have presen...

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Main Authors: Ali Rabbani, Zahra Maher
Format: Article
Language:fas
Published: Iranian Institute for Social and Cultural Studies 2014-03-01
Series:Taḥqīqāt-i Farhangī-i Īrān
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.jicr.ir/article_205_8c2e5db4322e813bd61cb78420977a8e.pdf
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author Ali Rabbani
Zahra Maher
author_facet Ali Rabbani
Zahra Maher
author_sort Ali Rabbani
collection DOAJ
description The main characteristic (feature) of the sociology of knowledge and science is its emphasis on the culture and cultural analysis within the scientific and technological research. This study concerns with the study of two research fields in which new sociologists of science and technology have presented their cultural analysis. These two fields include: sociology of scientific knowledge and cultural studies of science.Sociology of scientific knowledge is the first school of thought which makes the content of scientific knowledge inclined to and compliant with the cultural and sociological analysis. In SSK, the main presupposition is that “the scientific knowledge is totally arbitrary.” Accordingly, the design and evaluation of scientific theories and claims are the consequence of social interests and cultural inclinations (trends), in a way that the scientific theories become a tool for the justification, legitimating, encouragement and contentment.At the early 1990s, with the rise of crisis (chaos) within the explanations of sociology of scientific knowledge and a flood of criticism against it, the whole subjectivity of the field came to a standstill (reached an impasse) and the initiatives in scientific research were replaced by different theoretical orientations like cultural studies. In contrast to the sociology of scientific knowledge, the cultural studies of science concerns with the rejection of “explanation” and, instead, focuses on the “meaning” and “understanding”. In other words, it has come back to an old dispute between explanatory and hermeneutic approaches and those  which pursue the regulative (legalistic) comprehensiveness along the more positivistic lines.This emerging field emphasizes the issue that the uncertainty, instability, ambiguity (vagueness) and difference must be given a more important role in sciences. Cultural studies of science gave rise to a change from the sociology of scientific knowledge to a new culturalism.
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spelling doaj-art-0df6cd92899a496c9ce44d8db755d42a2025-08-20T02:14:35ZfasIranian Institute for Social and Cultural StudiesTaḥqīqāt-i Farhangī-i Īrān2008-18472476-50582014-03-016412910.7508/ijcr.2013.24.001205Knowledge as a Cultural Product: From the Sociology of Scientific Knowledge to the Cultural Studies of ScienceAli Rabbani0Zahra Maher1Associate Professor in Sociology, University of IsfahanPhD Candidate in Sociology, University of IsfahanThe main characteristic (feature) of the sociology of knowledge and science is its emphasis on the culture and cultural analysis within the scientific and technological research. This study concerns with the study of two research fields in which new sociologists of science and technology have presented their cultural analysis. These two fields include: sociology of scientific knowledge and cultural studies of science.Sociology of scientific knowledge is the first school of thought which makes the content of scientific knowledge inclined to and compliant with the cultural and sociological analysis. In SSK, the main presupposition is that “the scientific knowledge is totally arbitrary.” Accordingly, the design and evaluation of scientific theories and claims are the consequence of social interests and cultural inclinations (trends), in a way that the scientific theories become a tool for the justification, legitimating, encouragement and contentment.At the early 1990s, with the rise of crisis (chaos) within the explanations of sociology of scientific knowledge and a flood of criticism against it, the whole subjectivity of the field came to a standstill (reached an impasse) and the initiatives in scientific research were replaced by different theoretical orientations like cultural studies. In contrast to the sociology of scientific knowledge, the cultural studies of science concerns with the rejection of “explanation” and, instead, focuses on the “meaning” and “understanding”. In other words, it has come back to an old dispute between explanatory and hermeneutic approaches and those  which pursue the regulative (legalistic) comprehensiveness along the more positivistic lines.This emerging field emphasizes the issue that the uncertainty, instability, ambiguity (vagueness) and difference must be given a more important role in sciences. Cultural studies of science gave rise to a change from the sociology of scientific knowledge to a new culturalism.http://www.jicr.ir/article_205_8c2e5db4322e813bd61cb78420977a8e.pdfculturescientific knowledgesociology of scientific knowledgecultural studies of science
spellingShingle Ali Rabbani
Zahra Maher
Knowledge as a Cultural Product: From the Sociology of Scientific Knowledge to the Cultural Studies of Science
Taḥqīqāt-i Farhangī-i Īrān
culture
scientific knowledge
sociology of scientific knowledge
cultural studies of science
title Knowledge as a Cultural Product: From the Sociology of Scientific Knowledge to the Cultural Studies of Science
title_full Knowledge as a Cultural Product: From the Sociology of Scientific Knowledge to the Cultural Studies of Science
title_fullStr Knowledge as a Cultural Product: From the Sociology of Scientific Knowledge to the Cultural Studies of Science
title_full_unstemmed Knowledge as a Cultural Product: From the Sociology of Scientific Knowledge to the Cultural Studies of Science
title_short Knowledge as a Cultural Product: From the Sociology of Scientific Knowledge to the Cultural Studies of Science
title_sort knowledge as a cultural product from the sociology of scientific knowledge to the cultural studies of science
topic culture
scientific knowledge
sociology of scientific knowledge
cultural studies of science
url http://www.jicr.ir/article_205_8c2e5db4322e813bd61cb78420977a8e.pdf
work_keys_str_mv AT alirabbani knowledgeasaculturalproductfromthesociologyofscientificknowledgetotheculturalstudiesofscience
AT zahramaher knowledgeasaculturalproductfromthesociologyofscientificknowledgetotheculturalstudiesofscience