The Social Scientist as Public Intellectual in an Age of Mass Media

Abstract

What is the role of the social scientist in public affairs? How can scholars balance the demand that their work remains in the realm of the descriptive or the explanatory while also addressing the ongoing practical concerns of politics and economy? How can the effort to work toward this balance take place in an age of mass media? The ideas underlying contemporary social science are not formed in isolation but develop in a specific context with particular constraints and opportunities. Researchers must contend with these parameters and make choices about how to address topics of interest to them while also meeting the requirements of their profession. Scholars approaching their work as public intellectuals face the challenge of having to straddle these two sets of ethics. From the standpoint of science, they are expected to proceed as detached observers, gathering factual information that can shed new light on existing realities. Acting as public intellectuals, however, means that they must also take into consideration the ways their work relates to contemporary trends and events. Doing so means reflecting on their own starting assumptions, systems of categorization, and the methods they employ. It means seeking creative ways to convey ideas and share findings in the public arena. This paper focuses on some of the challenges involved in developing independent and innovative analyses while also contributing to public debate on contemporary social issues. It addresses some of the very formidable obstacles to this goal and discusses some of the ways scholars have been able to operate as social scientists and as public intellectuals, bridging the gap between these two domains. The institutional constraints facing social scientists are manifold, but they are not all encompassing. It is possible to bridge this gap, provided that they develop an awareness of the contextual forces involved and make a conscious effort to act independently in relation to these ongoing pressures. To the extent that social scientists adopt an informed and reflexive orientation in their work, they can be public intellectuals and offer a significant contribution to public affairs.