Global Knowledge Production in the Social Sciences: Made in Circulation

An innovative contribution to debates on the internationalization and globalization of the social sciences, this book pays particular attention to their theoretical and epistemological reconfiguration in the light of postcolonial critiques and critiques of Eurocentrism. Bringing together theoretical contributions and empirical case studies from around the world, including India, the Americas, South Africa, Australia and Europe, it engages in debates concerning public sociology and explores South-South research collaborations specific to the social sciences. Contributions transcend established critiques of Eurocentrism to make space for the idea of global social sciences and truly transnational research. Thematically arranged and both international and interdisciplinary in scope, this volume reflects the different theoretical and thematic backgrounds of the contributing authors, who enter into dialogue and debate with one another in the development of a more inclusive, more representative and more theoretically relevant stage for the social sciences. A rigorous critique of the contemporary state of the social sciences as well as an attempt to find another way of doing transnational sociology, Global Knowledge Production in the Social Sciences will appeal to scholars of sociology, political science and social theory with interests in the production of social scientific knowledge, postcolonialism and transnationalism in research.

Table of Contents:
Global Knowledge Production in the Social Sciences

About the Author :
Wiebke Keim is a postdoctoral research fellow and lecturer in the Department of Sociology at the University of Freiburg, Germany and a CNRS researcher at the research center SAGE in Strasbourg. She is co-editor of Gauging and Engaging Deviance, 1600-2000. Ercüment Çelik is post-doctoral researcher and lecturer in the Department of Sociology at the University of Freiburg, Germany, and author of Street Traders: A Bridge Between Trade Unions and Social Movements in Contemporary South Africa. Christian Ersche is doctoral researcher at the University of Freiburg, Germany. Veronika Wöhrer is post-doctoral researcher and lecturer in the Department of Sociology at the Universities of Freiburg, Germany, and Vienna, Austria.

Review :
’An essential volume for anyone interested in alternatives to the presumed universalism of theory and methods derived from Western contexts and agendas. While recognizing powerful institutionalized obstacles, the authors challenge the epistemological foundations of Sociology, and describe both recent transnational initiatives and new scholarship aimed at transforming the discipline by incorporating new knowledge and paradigms now increasingly encountered in postcolonial settings.’ David Szanton, University of California, Berkeley, USA and editor of The Politics of Knowledge: Area Studies and the Disciplines ’This book widens the theoretical and methodological perspective of studies on the global circulation of knowledge, by offering interesting cases and discussing relevant concepts. A truly international contribution to rethinking the entangled processes at work in the production of social sciences in local, national and transnational spaces.’ Fernanda Beigel, CONICET-Universidad Nacional de Cuyo, Argentina ’After the wave of criticism of the Eurocentric and colonial character of hegemonic social sciences during the 1990s and in the early 2000s, more recent studies have tried to offer institutional and epistemic solutions to adequately represent the global South in the social sciences. This volume systematically discusses some of these experiences, presenting new critical responses to the challenge of overcoming parochialism and Eurocentrism. Bringing together a team of brilliant and internationally renowned authors, this book represents an indispensable contribution for those interested in following contemporary reinvention of social sciences.’ Sérgio Costa, Freie Universität Berlin, Germany