Tuesday 19 June 2012

The Reifying and Commoditizing Effects of Disciplines

an article by Willem H. Vanderburg (University of Toronto, Canada) published in Bulletin of Science, Technology & Society Volume 32 Number 1 (February 2012)

Abstract

The present analysis revisits the economics of inattention and the resulting commoditization and creation of privileged goods. These act as a significant force that pushes human history toward a future that will be less livable and sustainable.

The analysis traces the roots of these developments to the reorganization of human knowing and doing by putting them on a discipline-based footing.

It is part of a larger analysis that shows the need to create a different kind of scientific and technical specialization that rebalances breadth with depth, and the accompanying university reforms that will be required.


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