Defense Department Awards Social Science Research Grants

December 23rd, 2008

Posted by: admin

Wired.com’s Danger Room blog notes the Defense Department has issued the first research grants for its Minerva program, part of its ongoing effort to utilize social science research in support of its mission.  While most think of weapons and weapons related research when you hear about conflicts between academics and the military, the social science communities have been challenged by Minerva and other Defense Department programs.  See any of the other articles cited at the bottom of the Danger Room piece to get a better understanding of the struggles anthropologists and other social scientists have had when their field research involves the battlefield.

It’s worth noting the breadth of topics covered by the first series of grants.  They cover a variety of social science disciplines as well as countries.  Danger Room will follow up with a closer examination of these projects, so check back there in the next week or so.  While I understand the concerns raised by those who have criticised the programs, it’s tough for me to say that any government research program is free from the possibility of ‘warping’ research priorities.  I’ve never been convinced that the choice of research problems was free from politics, even if governments weren’t supporting that research.  With the Defense Department relatively shielded from budget tightening, Defense Department research dollars are likely to look more and more attractive to faculty seeking funding/job security.  These tensions aren’t going away.

One Response to “Defense Department Awards Social Science Research Grants”

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  1. David Bruggeman Says:

    The update promised by the author is nothing more than a list of awardees with links to their institutional biographies.

    http://blog.wired.com/defense/2008/12/earlier-this–1.html