Overcoming the Two Cultures

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 "e;facts"e; and "e;values"e; as part of the transition from feudalism to capitalism. This led to a polarization between universalist "e;science"e; and the particularist "e;humanities"e; 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. PART I: THE HISTORICAL CONSTRUCTION AND INSTITUTIONALIZATION OF THE STRUCTURES OF KNOWLEDGE. Constructing Authority: The Rise of Science in the Modern World. Reaction and Resistance: The Natural Sciences and the Humanities. The Social Sciences and Alternative Disciplinary Models. The Ambivalent Role of Psychology/Psychoanalysis. Orientalism and Area Studies: The Case of Sinology. PART II: CONTEMPORARY CHALLENGES IN AND TO THE STRUCTURES OF KNOWLEDGE. Complexity Studies. Science Studies. The Cultural turn in the Social Sciences and Humanities. Gender: Feminisms and Women's Studies. Regional Categories of Knowledge: Latin/o Americanisms. Environment and Ecology: Concepts and Movements. The "Culture Wars" and the "Science Wars". Conclusion?