ment," reflected in the processes of cognitive "lumping" and "splitting."
He concludes that moving the social sciences beyond the development of
"mere cultural texts" is vital to their relevance to "popular discourse."
From these analyses, awareness of and relating to the societal context is
crucial to understanding the political context of social science.

Focusing on academic context, Professor Etzioni-Halevy critiques con-
temporary theories of postmodernity and hypermodernity for their relative
neglect of the "growing gap between the rich and the poor" in modern
society, reflecting changing social, political, and intellectual contexts. Of
particular concern is the manner in which social theorists tend to legitimize
"the present trend toward growing inequalities." She concludes that "force-
ful and widespread critique" of these theories is vital to maximize their
"egalitarian potential." Changes in the university environment and poten-
tial seduction of intellectuals by the media are discussed by Professor
Coenen-Huther in his analysis of the differing views of Boudon and
Bourdieu on this issue. The former explains this development as a function
of a degenerating university environment; the latter focuses on character-
istics of the modern media and journalism. Coenen-Huther concludes that
these two analysts' different settings may account for their differing expla-
nations of this phenomenon. Next, Drs. Perrucci and Trachtman present
an in-depth study of groups alleged to have "antiscience" attitudes, includ-
ing feminists, environmentalists, fundamentalists, the political left and
right, and other community leaders. They conclude that the "interest group
hypothesis" explains why certain groups criticize science better than "pop-
ular disenchantment with science" does and feel that in light of their data
future knowledge needs to be "socially and democratically situated." These
chapters highlight the degree to which academic environments influence
intellectual attitudes and the perception of science.

The final three chapters focus on the interaction between biography and
ideology. Professor Wacquant, in a fascinating essay, evaluates the auto-
biographical accounts of eight famous members of the American Sociolog-
ical Association, concluding that, while this approach could make an
important contribution to a "genuine reflexive sociology," these portraits
are highly limited by their academic, impersonal, formal, and self-effacing
approaches to the topic. Central here is the manner in which professional
ideology constrains personal biography. Professor Harris offers a micro-
scopic case study of how a small group of graduate social science and
humanities students react to the dominant intellectual regimes they are ex-
posed to during the training experience. She points to the complexity of
these dynamics revealed in the ongoing interaction between "institutional
and individual factors," particularly a student's academic background. The
final contribution presents the biographies of two academics, very different
in background, but who share similar sociological interests and perspec-
tives. These brief biographies link the effects of crucial experiences, or

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