Workshop Proposal: Science as a Vocation: A Centennial Perspective

Brandeis University, Waltham MA

Investigators

Abstract

A century ago Max Weber, a German historian and social scientist, gave a celebrated lecture, entitled ?Science as a Vocation."  The lecture provided an overview of the external conditions of scientific work?employment security and circumstances, pay, competition, promotion opportunities--and examined the personal experience of science and its human and societal meanings. With Weber's work as a benchmark, this workshop examines stability and change in scientific careers in order to summarize what is known, to identify areas where new knowledge about work life and career are needed, and to use what we know to suggest ways to attract, motivate, and arrange scientific work that ensure its continued success.      Conference participants systematically and comparatively analyze science as a vocation today, to address both its external conditions and internal meanings and rewards, in diverse national contexts. They consider how the institutional dynamics of science systems, changing modes of research support and performance, and evolving science-society relationships change the shape, content, and attractiveness of scientific careers within academe and outside.  Of concern are the direction and dynamics of change, the potential policy and programmatic responses, and the likelihood that emerging forms of scientific work life and career will meet the challenges that lie ahead.