Prompt:
Merton wrote The normative structure of science early in his career in 1942 (during World War II) and included it in a collection of his work on the sociology of science in 1973 (during the Cold War). How might the political climate of this time span in America have influenced his work? Do his theories cast science in a particular light? How does this work look through the lens of Wolfe's (2018) depiction of science during the Cold War?
Motivation:
I was thinking about the age of Merton’s piece, (published more than 80 years ago!) in the context of the course theme “history of science is a social history.” Rather than just understanding the reading as an example of the sociology of science, I thought it would be interesting to treat it as the object of our inquiry. In addition to helping us understand Merton’s arguments in context, I hope this will raise the larger issue of whether we can apply the tools of the sociology of science to the sociology of science itself.