Craig Calhoun Social Science Research Council
The grant supports a conference, held in conjunction with the centenary celebration of the American Sociological Association at its 2005 annual, to assess the contemporary significance of Robert K. Merton's theories, his ideas on the relations of theory and research, and on the sociology of science. Robert Merton has left beyond an extraordinary legacy of sociological work, both published and unpublished. His work has addressed a number of contemporary issues such as the relationship between (1) "basic" and applied" research, (2) theory and empirical research, (3) "history" and "systematics" of theory, and (4) institutional and cultural contexts of knowledge production and the knowledge produced. The workshop, however, will address primarily (a) the relationship of theory to empirical research, and (b) the relationship between sociological theory and the sociology of science. The goal of the conference and the resultant book is to provide a scientific inquiry into the current state of the sociological projects to which Merton was key contributor. The later included both specific subfields, such as social psychology and the sociologies of science, deviance, bureaucracy, communications; and the broader projects of developing "theories of the middle range" which relate closely to empirical inquiries. Scholars will be invited as participants, but the PI will invite submissions for participation.
The conference will be the basis for an edited book. The preliminary proceedings of the conference will be made available as part of a website on the work of Robert Merton. This includes a compilation of the memorials written after Merton's death, other assessments of his work, a critical bibliography, and guidance for students. Arrangements have been made to include tapes of Professor Merton, and of the ASA Memorial for Professor Merton, and to contain a preliminary guide to the Merton archives that are being established at Columbia. It is expected that a variety of other sites will to post links to this site (which will be hosted at the Social Science Research Council that operates one of the most active and frequently visited websites in social science).
