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The Institutionalization of COSSA: An Innovative Response to Crises by American Social Science
Author(s) -
Dynes Russell R.
Publication year - 1984
Publication title -
sociological inquiry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.446
H-Index - 51
eISSN - 1475-682X
pISSN - 0038-0245
DOI - 10.1111/j.1475-682x.1984.tb00057.x
Subject(s) - institutionalisation , discipline , government (linguistics) , sociology , action (physics) , value (mathematics) , collective action , public administration , political science , social science , public relations , law , politics , computer science , linguistics , philosophy , physics , quantum mechanics , machine learning
Over the past seventy‐five years, separate disciplinary associations have been created for each of the social sciences in the United States. As a consequence, cooperation among the associations has only been periodic and delimited. These associations have been primarily focused on member services and have been less concerned than the biological and physical science associations with issues of governmental science policy. The first Reagan budget was constructed to reduce the already sparse research support by the federal government for the social sciences. That intent mobilized the national social science community to develop collective and coordinated action. Building on a latent structure that had emerged from the common Washington location of the disciplinary associations, the Consortium of Social Science Associations was institutionalized to make a response. COSSA's initial success minimized some of the potential negative consequences. That success suggested the value of such cooperative efforts and also confirmed the necessity of the continuation of COSSA in the future.