Basic And Applied Research: The Language Of Science Policy In The Twentieth Century Hardcover

New

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 research was reconceived in response to rapid scientific progress and then further transformed by the geopolitical circumstances of the postwar era.

9781785338106

English

Berghahn Books

25 Apr 2018

352

David Kaldewey

DéSirée Schauz

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