Model Cases

We all know that scientists reliably study a predictable set of organisms when performing research, whether they be mice, fruit flies, or less commonly known but widely used species of snail or worm. But when we think of the so-called humanistic social sciences, we envision a different kind of research attuned to distinct historical power relations or the unique experiences of a social group. In Model Cases, sociologist Monika Krause uncovers the ways the humanities and social sciences are shaped by anddependent on their own unique set of models and research practices, often in unacknowledged ways. Krause shows that some material research objects are studied repeatedly and shape the understanding of more general categories in disproportionate ways. Forinstance, Chicago comes to be the touchstone for studies of the modern city, or Michel Foucault a guiding light for understanding the contemporary subject. Moving through classic research cases in the social sciences, Krause reveals the ways canonical cases and sites have shaped research and theory, showing how these models can both help and harm the production of knowledge. In the end, she argues, the models themselves have great potential to serve scholarship--as long as they are acknowledged and examined with acuity--