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Introduction: The Social and Human Sciences in Global Power Relations

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The Social and Human Sciences in Global Power Relations

Part of the book series: Socio-Historical Studies of the Social and Human Sciences ((SHSSHS))

Abstract

Locating the book in the general debate on globalization, the editors present a structural approach to studying the internationalization of the social and human sciences (SHS). They argue that these processes are best conceptualized as structured by power relations on different levels. Various political actors, ranging from national governments to international organizations, have indeed heavily invested in the transnational development of the SHS, in the framework of broader geopolitical struggles. Moreover, the globalizing field of the social and human sciences is marked by an unequal distribution of resources, best described as a core-periphery structure. The book develops these ideas at the institutional, social and intellectual level, on the basis of a variety of empirical studies. Part 1 explores patterns of transnationalization that shape the social and human sciences at the global level. Part 2 examines a particular form of internationalization: transnational regionalization (in the cases of Latin America and Europe). Parts 3 and 4 focus on the circulation of ideas and scholars between respectively North and South, and between West and East.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    The citation study, based on the Social Science Citation Index (SSCI) and the Arts and Humanities Citation Index (AHCI), was published in the Times Higher Education Supplement, 26 March 2009 (see Heilbron 2014a).

  2. 2.

    For more information and other publications of the project, see http://www.interco-ssh.eu/. The project received funding from the European Union Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007-2013) under grant agreement no. 319974 (Interco-SSH). Johan Heilbron would like to thank Louise and John Steffens, members of the Friends Founders’ Circle, who assisted his stay at the Princeton Institute for Advanced Study in 2017–18 during which he completed his work on the present volume.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centre Européen de Sociologie et de Science Politique (CESSP), CNRS – EHESS – Université Paris 1-Panthéon-Sorbonne, Paris, France

    Johan Heilbron

  2. Department of Political Science, Centre Européen de Sociologie et Science Politique (CESSP), Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne, Paris, France

    Thibaud Boncourt

  3. Department of Anthropology, The National Scientific and Technical Research Council (CONICET), Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, Córdoba, Argentina

    Gustavo Sorá

Authors
  1. Johan Heilbron
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  2. Thibaud Boncourt
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Centre Européen de Sociologie et de Science Politique (CESSP), CNRS – EHESS – Université Paris 1-Panthéon-Sorbonne, Paris, France

    Johan Heilbron

  2. Department of Anthropology The National Scientific and Technical Research Council (CONICET), Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, Córdoba, Argentina

    Gustavo Sorá

  3. Department of Political Science Centre Européen de Sociologie et Science Politique (CESSP), Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne, Paris, France

    Thibaud Boncourt

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Heilbron, J., Boncourt, T., Sorá, G. (2018). Introduction: The Social and Human Sciences in Global Power Relations. In: Heilbron, J., Sorá, G., Boncourt, T. (eds) The Social and Human Sciences in Global Power Relations. Socio-Historical Studies of the Social and Human Sciences. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-73299-2_1

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