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In her article Harding suggests taking the traditional hierarchy that places physics at the top and the humanities at the bottom and flipping it upside down.  This is interesting but a bit hypocritical.

To begin I do think that sociology be used to give science a good overhaul.  Undoubtedly science research and development must be refocused so that the lives of less advantage people, who are the majority, will be benefited.  A multimillion dollar project that comes to mind is the creation of a giant “ear” (interestingly enough called the “Serendip IV” project)  that is being created to listen for life on other planets.  Interesting but how many people could have been fed with that money?  I apologize for using another physics example but this project has been in the back of my mind as a grave offender.

I would like to propose laying the hierarch down or getting rid of it all together.  Sociology should be used to study science but I don’t believe it belongs at the top.  I believe we need this view from “many somewheres” and presently none of these academic disciplines really have that.  Sociology may have more somewheres than the sciences but on the institutional level sociology is still being practiced by those who are more advantaged. 

For more info on Serendip:

http://library.thinkquest.org/C003763/print.php?page=interview03