Sociological Knowledge for Induced Development
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Alexandria, 26 May 2005—The social science conference “Sociological Knowledge for Induced Development”, will be held at the Bibliotheca Alexandrina, 30-31 May 2005. The closed conference will discuss the major emerging or desirable directions in the development and practical use of social science knowledge, and will celebrate the recent publication of the International Encyclopedia of Social and Behavioral Sciences (Elsevier, 2002), a recent landmark event in social sciences.
Dr. Ismail Serageldin, Director of the Bibliotheca Alexandrina, and Professor Neil Smelser, University of California at Berkeley, initiator and senior “architect” of the Encyclopedia (IE), will inaugurate the conference. IE is the product of a collective international effort by social scientists to take stock of the current stage of knowledge in their disciplines. A copy of IE will be donated to the BA, by the publishing house, Elsevier.
The conference is conceived as a reunion of a number of senior scholars, some who participated in preparing the IE, and others who intellectually represent the social science communities of their continents or countries. At this start of the 21st century, these scholars will present their reflections on the Encyclopedia and will point to what, in their views, might be the most significant “avenues of knowledge” and research priorities in the near future.
A number of topics concerning social sciences will be discussed, among which are: Do Social Scientists Supply Knowledge Tailored to Induced Development?; Knowledge for Action: Development Pathologies and the Critical/Constructive Vocation of Development Anthropology; Social Science Knowledge and Institutional Innovation for Development; Inducing Change and Imposing Risks: Social Science and the Protection of Rights; Development’s Untapped Resource: Women in the Muslim World and Gender Studies; The Risks of Aspiration: Can Development be Ethically Induced?; and last but not least, Cultural Heritage Endowments and Identity: In or Out of the Development Paradigm?