Smoother Pebbles

Until the middle of the twentieth century, few thought of science as a social system, instead seeing scientific discovery as the work of individual geniuses. Columbia University's Department of Sociology played a pivotal role in advancing the social study of science. Researchers of the "Columbia Program" analyzed how science works as a social institution, exploring its norms, values, and structure. Smoother Pebbles presents a collection of essays authored or coauthored by Jonathan R. Cole, a leading Columbia Program figure, that trace the development and institutionalization of the sociology of science. Spanning from the 1960s to the 2020s and including both empirical and theoretical studies of science, the book is at once wide-ranging and united by core questions. Are scientists rewarded for the merits of their work or for other reasons? How does the system of social stratification in science operate? Has the funding of scientists been the result of an "old boys' network"? How fair is the peer review process? In what ways does science fall short of its universalistic ideals? What factors have constrained opportunities for women in science? How has science fared amid attacks on academic freedom and free inquiry at universities? Cole's introduction contextualizes both individual essays and the major concerns of the Columbia Program. Smoother Pebbles is essential reading for those interested in the growth and crucial questions of the sociology and social studies of science.

Jonathan R. Cole is John Mitchell Mason Professor of the University at Columbia University, where he was provost and dean of faculties from 1989 to 2003. His scholarly work has focused on the development of the sociology of science and on the American research university. Cole is the author or editor of a dozen books, including The Great American University (2012) and Toward a More Perfect University (2016).

Acknowledgments Introduction Part I. Values and Rewards in Science 1. Scientific Output and Recognition: A Study in the Operation of the Reward System in Science (1967), by Stephen Cole and Jonathan R. Cole 2. Visibility and Structural Bases of Awareness in Science (1968), by Stephen Cole and Jonathan R. Cole 3. Patterns of Intellectual Influence in Scientific Research (1970), by Jonathan R. Cole 4. Measuring the Quality of Sociological Research: Problems in the Use of the Science Citation Index (1971), by Jonathan R. Cole and Stephen Cole 5. The Emergence of a Scientific Specialty: The Self-Exemplifying Case of the Sociology of Science (1975), by Jonathan R. Cole and Harriet Zuckerman 6. The Reputations of American Medical Schools (1977), by Jonathan R. Cole and James Lipton 7. Age and Scientific Performance (1979), by Stephen Cole 8. Balancing Acts: Dilemmas of Choice Facing Research Universities (1993), by Jonathan R. Cole 9. Robert K. Merton, 1910-2003 (2004), by Jonathan R. Cole 10. Why Elite-College Admissions Need an Overhaul (2016), by Jonathan R. Cole 11. The Pillaging of America's State Universities (2016), by Jonathan R. Cole Part II. Freedom and Unfreedom: The Case of Women in Science 12. Women in American Science (1975), by Jonathan R. Cole and Harriet Zuckerman 13. Women in Science (1981), by Jonathan R. Cole 14. The Productivity Puzzle: Persistence and Change in Patterns of Publication of Men and Women Scientists (1984), by Jonathan R. Cole and Harriet Zuckerman 15. Marriage, Motherhood, and Research Performance in Science (1987), by Jonathan R. Cole and Harriet Zuckerman 16. A Theory of Limited Differences: Explaining the Productivity Puzzle in Science (1991), by Jonathan R. Cole and Burton Singer 17. Freedom Gained and Freedom Lost in American Science (2022), by Jonathan R. Cole and Daria Franklin Part III. Consensus in Science: Judgment and Choices 18. Peer Review and the Support of Science (1972), by Jonathan R. Cole, Stephen Cole, and Leonard Rubin 19. The "Ortega" Hypothesis (1972), by Jonathan R. Cole and Stephen Cole 20. Chance and Consensus in Peer Review (1981), by Stephen Cole, Jonathan R. Cole, and Gary Simon 21. NSF Peer Review Continued (1982), by Stephen Cole, Jonathan R. Cole, and Gary A. Simon 22. Experts' Consensus and Decision-Making at the National Science Foundation (1985), by Jonathan R. Cole and Stephen Cole 23. Testing the Ortega Hypothesis: Milestone or Millstone? (1987), by Stephen Cole and Jonathan R. Cole 24. Dietary Cholesterol and Heart Disease: The Construction of a Medical "Fact" (1988), by Jonathan R. Cole 25. Two Cultures Revisited (1996), by Jonathan R. Cole 26. Intellectual Diversity in the United States: To What End? (2006), by Jonathan R. Cole Part IV. Academic Freedom and Free Inquiry: The Enabling Value 27. The Patriot Act on Campus: Defending the University after 9/11 (2003), by Jonathan R. Cole 28. Academic Freedom under Fire (2005), by Jonathan R. Cole 29. The New McCarthyism (2005), by Jonathan R. Cole 30. Defending Academic Freedom and Free Inquiry (2009), by Jonathan R. Cole 31. The Chilling Effect of Fear at America's Colleges (2016), by Jonathan R. Cole 32. The Triumph of America's Research University (2016), by Jonathan R. Cole 33. Academic Freedom as an Indicator of a Liberal Democracy (2017), by Jonathan R. Cole 34. Academic Freedom under Fire (2021), by Jonathan R. Cole Index