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The hybridization of social science knowledge - Navigating Among the Disciplines: The Library and Interdisciplinary Inquiry
Library Trends, Fall, 1996 by Mattei Dogan
ABSTRACT
A Twofold process can be seen in the growth of science: the fragmentation of formal disciplines and a recombination of the specialties resulting from this fragmentation. The division of disciplines into specialized subfields has led to the development of hybrid specialties. The process of hybridization consists, first of all, of borrowing and lending concepts, methods, theories, and praxes. The fruitful point of contact is established between sectors and not along disciplinary boundaries. The hybrid specialties do not necessarily stand midway between two sovereign disciplines. They may be enclaves of a section of a discipline into a sector of another discipline. They combine two limited domains. For this reason, the concept of hybridization seems more appropriate than the concept of interdisciplinarity.
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INTRODUCTION
To the title "Navigating among the Disciplines" proposed by Carole Palmer, the protagonist of this issue of Library Trends, I would like to add "and traversing the bridges between specialties," since, in the archipelago of social sciences, there are relatively few formal disciplines but dozens of fields, subfields, and specialties. If we crossed each of the twelve principal social sciences with all the others, the result would be a grid with 144 squares. Some squares would remain empty, but most of these would be filled by hybridized specialties each having some, autonomy (Dogan & Pahre, 1990).
These hybrid specialties then subdivide, giving rise, at the second generation, to an even larger number of hybrids. A full inventory of all the existing combinations cannot be obtained by crossing the disciplines two by two, even at the level of the second generation, since some of the most dynamic of hybrid fields are of multiple origin.
In addition, hybrid fields like prehistory, which are partly rooted in the natural sciences, would not appear in die 144-square grid, which is confined to recombinations of segments of the social sciences. The configuration of hybrid social sciences fields is changing constantly. Social psychology, political sociology, human ecology, and political economy have long been recognized, whereas political psychiatry is still fighting for acceptance. Some specialists in cognitive science announce that traditional psychology will soon vanish as an independent discipline and would ultimately be dissolved in a full-blown neuropsychology, which would show, somewhat as chemistry supplanted alchemy, the illusory and prescientific character of the old psychology.
Which branch of linguistics is on the right path, structural linguistics or generative grammar? The structuralists criticize the historicism of comparative grammars and the generativists reject the presuppositions of the structuralists.
In the history of science, a twofold process can be seen: a fragmentation of formal disciplines and a recombination of the specialties resulting from this fragmentation. The new hybrid field may become completely independent, like social psychology, or continue to claim a dual allegiance, like political geography. In the latter case, one may not be sure whether to place a work in the category of geography or political science. The criterion could be based on die predominance of one or the other components or on the formal affiliation of the author. Political anthropology is a branch of anthropology but is also a subfield of political science. Where does historical sociology end and social history begin? One may feel even more unsure when faced with a case of threefold recombination. As the relative proportions are not always obvious, it remains somewhat arbitrary where the essential affiliation may be said to lie, especially since the degree of kinship among disciplines varies greatly: sociology and social psychology are consanguineous, but geology and social geography are far less so, despite appearances.
From Specialization through Fragmentation
into Hybridization
Some scholars praise "interdisciplinarity." Such has often come from the most creative scientists, because they are the first to see the problems caused by gaps between disciplines. But this is not realistic. Presently, it is no longer possible for anyone to have a thorough knowledge of more than one discipline. It is utopian thinking to master two or more whole disciplines. Given that this implies the ability to be familiar with, and combine, entire disciplines, the idea of interdisciplinary research is illusory.
Because it is so difficult for a single scholar to be truly multidisciplinary, some methodologists are led to advocate teamwork. This is what is proposed by Pierre de Bie in the monumental work published by Unesco (1970). Team work is productive in large science laboratories but, where the social sciences are concerned, it is difficult to achieve in practice. The only examples of successful teamwork concern data production or collection and very seldom interpretation or synthesis - with the exception of archaeology.
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