Universities as Settings

Abstract

The specific institution where social science is most practiced, academia in the United States, creates biases and opportunities. Social science is slowly internationalizing, with more cross-national collaboration. Yet the American university system still accounts for a large share of social science and is the primary home for debates about its future. Despite constant claims of crisis, US universities are a stable and competitive global industry. Social science is doing well within American universities and expanding globally, but often doing so by enlarging applied rather than basic fields. Most research takes place in the current academic context, requiring attention to the recent history and incentives of universities. Cold War social science provides a window into related biases and successful efforts to overcome them.