Basic and Applied Research: The Language of Science Policy in the Twentieth Century(4 European Conceptual History)

The distinction between basic and applied research was central to twentieth-century science and policymaking, and if this framework has been contested in recent years, it nonetheless remains ubiquitous in both scientific and public discourse. Employing a transnational, diachronic perspective informed by historical semantics, this volume traces the conceptual history of the basic–applied distinction from the nineteenth century to today, taking stock of European developments alongside comparative case studies from the United States and China. It shows how an older dichotomy of pure and applied science was reconceived in response to rapid scientific progress and then further transformed by the geopolitical circumstances of the postwar era.

Table of Contents:
List of Figures Preface List of Abbreviations Introduction: Why Do Concepts Matter in Science Policy? Désirée Schauz and David Kaldewey PART I: GENEALOGIES OF SCIENCE POLICY DISCOURSES Chapter 1. Categorizing Science in Nineteenth and Early Twentieth-Century Britain Robert Bud Chapter 2. Professional Devotion, National Needs, Fascist Claims, and Democratic Virtues: The Language of Science Policy in Germany Désirée Schauz and Gregor Lax Chapter 3. Transforming Pure Science into Basic Research: The Language of Science Policy in the United States David Kaldewey and Désirée Schauz PART II: CONCEPTUAL SYNCHRONIZATION AND CULTURAL VARIATION Chapter 4. Fundamental Research and New Scientific Arrangements for the Development of Britain’s Colonies after 1940 Sabine Clarke Chapter 5. Basic Research in the Max Planck Society: Science Policy in the Federal Republic of Germany, 1945–1970 Carola Sachse Chapter 6. Beyond the Basic/Applied Distinction?: The Scientific-Technological Revolution in the German Democratic Republic, 1945–1989 Manuel Schramm Chapter 7. Applied Science in Stalin’s Time: Hungary, 1945–1953 György Péteri Chapter 8. Theory Attached to Practice: Chinese Debates over Basic Research from Thought Remolding to the Bomb, 1949–1966 Zuoyue Wang PART III: OUTLOOK Chapter 9. The Language of Science Policy in the Twenty-First Century: What Comes after Basic and Applied Research? Tim Flink and David Kaldewey Indexes

About the Author :
David Kaldewey is professor for science studies and science policy at the University of Bonn and co-spokesperson of the Rhine Ruhr Center for Science Communication Research. He holds a doctorate in sociology from Bielefeld University. He has published widely on the changing relationship of science, society, and politics. His research interests include the identity work of scientists and science policy makers, the crisis of truth as a challenge to science communication, and the sociology of universities in world society.

Review :
“Overall, this edited collection represents a greatly enriching contribution to conceptual history that raises questions of methodology and concepts and analyses these successfully from various national perspectives.” • NTM History of Science, Technology & Medicine “The great merit of the editors’ pluralist approach is that they allow a range of distinguished international contributors free rein to discuss the topics in depth for the United States, Germany, and Britain, with invaluable comparative discussion of Hungary and China too…a rich and intriguing Collection.” • Isis “This is an important and timely contribution to the conceptual history of science in the twentieth century, with a laudably thorough discussion of methodological and conceptual concerns.” • Julian Bauer, European University Association “Concepts reflect ideologies and policies as much as they shape them, bridging the gap between expectations and reality. This transnational probe into the "basic/applied" rhetoric of science policy discourse is a unique and overdue analysis that will contribute to our understanding of past and present relations among science, innovation and the political contexts in which they develop.” • Peter Weingart, Bielefeld University