In the last several decades, there has been a surge of interest in expertise in the social scientific, philosophical, and legal literatures. While it is tempting to attribute this surge of interest in expertise to the emergence and consolidation of a "knowledge society," "post-industrial society," or "network society," it is more likely that the debates about expertise are symptomatic of significant change and upheaval.\nAs the number of contenders for expert status has increased, as the bases for their claims have become more diverse, and as the struggles between these would-be experts intensified, expertise became problematic and contested. In The Oxford Handbook of Expertise and Democratic Politics, Gil Eyal and Thomas Medvetz have brought together a broad group of scholars who have engaged substantively and theoretically with debates regarding the nature of expertise and the social roles of experts to examine these areas within sociology and allied disciplines. The analyses take an historical and relational approach to the topic and are motivated by the sense that growing mistrust in experts represents a danger to democratic politics today. Among the topics considered here are the value and relevance of the boundary between experts and laypeople; the causes and consequences of mistrust in experts; the meanings and social uses of objectivity; and the significance of recent transformations in the 
organization of the professions.\nBringing together investigations from social scientists, philosophers, and legal scholars into the political dimensions of expertise, this Handbook connects interdisciplinary work done in science and technology studies with the more classic concerns, topics, and concepts of sociologists of professions and intellectuals.

The Oxford Handbook of Expertise and Democratic Politics (OXFORD HANDBOOKS SERIES)

Eyal, Gil

Medvetz, Thomas

Computers & Technology

Oxford University Press

The Autism Matrix

Today autism has become highly visible. Once you begin to look forit, you realize it is everywhere. Why? We all know the answer orthink we do: there is an autism epidemic. And if it is an epidemic,then we know what must be done: lots of money must be thrown at it,detection centers must be established and explanations sought, sothat the number of new cases can be brought down and the epidemicbrought under control.  But can it really be so simple? This major new book offers a verydifferent interpretation. The authors argue that the recent rise inautism should be understood an “aftershock” of the realearthquake, which was the deinstitutionalization of mentalretardation in the mid-1970s. This entailed a radicaltransformation not only of the institutional matrix for dealingwith developmental disorders of childhood, but also of the culturallens through which we view them. It opened up a space for viewingand treating childhood disorders as neither mental illness normental retardation, neither curable nor incurable, but somewherein-between. The authors show that where deinstitutionalization wentthe furthest, as in Scandinavia, UK and the “blue”states of the US, autism rates are also highest. Where it wasabsent or delayed, as in France, autism rates are low.  Combining a historical narrative with international comparison,The Autism Matrix offers a fresh and powerful analysis of acondition that affects many parents and children today.

Politics & Social Sciences

Sociology

Polity

Today autism has become highly visible. Once you begin to look for it, you realize it is everywhere. Why? We all know the answer or think we do: there is an autism epidemic. And if it is an epidemic, then we know what must be done: lots of money must be thrown at it, detection centers must be established and explanations sought, so that the number of new cases can be brought down and the epidemic brought under control. But can it really be so simple? This major new book offers a very different interpretation. The authors argue that the recent rise in autism should be understood an “aftershock” of the real earthquake, which was the deinstitutionalization of mental retardation in the mid-1970s. This entailed a radical transformation not only of the institutional matrix for dealing with developmental disorders of childhood, but also of the cultural lens through which we view them. It opened up a space for viewing and treating childhood disorders as neither mental illness nor mental retardation, neither curable nor incurable, but somewhere in-between. The authors show that where deinstitutionalization went the furthest, as in Scandinavia, UK and the “blue” states of the US, autism rates are also highest. Where it was absent or delayed, as in France, autism rates are low. Combining a historical narrative with international comparison, The Autism Matrix offers a fresh and powerful analysis of a condition that affects many parents and children today.

The Crisis of Expertise

In recent political debates there has been a significant change in the valence of the word "experts" from a superlative to a near pejorative, typically accompanied by a recitation of experts' many failures and misdeeds. In topics as varied as Brexit, climate change, and vaccinations there is a palpable mistrust of experts and a tendency to dismiss their advice. Are we witnessing, therefore, the "death of expertise," or is the handwringing about an "assault on science" merely the hysterical reaction of threatened elites? In this new book, Gil Eyal argues that what needs to be explained is not a one-sided "mistrust of experts" but the two-headed&nbsp;pushmi-pullyu&nbsp;of unprecedented reliance on science and expertise, on the one hand,&nbsp;coupled with increased skepticism and dismissal of scientific findings and expert opinion, on the other. The current mistrust of experts is best understood as one more spiral in an on-going, recursive crisis of legitimacy. The "scientization of politics," of which critics warned in the 1960s, has brought about a politicization of science, and the two processes reinforce one another in an unstable, crisis-prone mixture.&nbsp; This timely book will be of great interest to students and scholars in the social sciences and to anyone concerned about the political uses of, and attacks on, scientific knowledge and expertise.

Philosophy

In recent political debates there has been a significant change in the valence of the word “experts” from a superlative to a near pejorative, typically accompanied by a recitation of experts’ many failures and misdeeds. In topics as varied as Brexit, climate change and vaccinations there is a palpable mistrust of experts and a tendency to dismiss their advice. Are we witnessing, therefore, the “death of expertise,” or is the handwringing about an “assault on science” merely the hysterical reaction of threatened elites? In this new book, Gil Eyal argues that what needs to be explained is not a one-sided “mistrust of experts” but the two-headed pushmi-pullyu of unprecedented reliance on science and expertise, on the one hand, coupled with increased suspicion, skepticism and dismissal of scientific findings, expert opinion or even whole branches of investigation, on the other. The current mistrust of experts, Eyal argues, is best understood as one more spiral in an on-going, recursive crisis of legitimacy. The “scientization of politics,” of which critics warned in the 1960s, has brought about a politicization of science, specifically of regulatory and policy science, and the two processes reinforce one another in an unstable, crisis-prone mixture. Eyal demonstrates that the strategies designed to respond to the crisis - from an increased emphasis on inclusion of laypeople and stakeholders in scientific research and regulatory decision-making to approaches seeking to generate trust by relying on objective procedures such as randomized controlled trials (RCTs) – end up exacerbating the crisis, while undermining and contradicting one another. This timely book will be of great interest to students and scholars in the social sciences and to anyone concerned about the political uses of, and attacks on, scientific knowledge and expertise.

In this historical study, Gil Eyal argues that before the formation of Israel, Jewish experts participated in constructing the Orient as both a metaphor for the rejuvenation of the Jewish nation, and an enchanted space populated by hybrid figures that mixed Jewish and Arab elements. But following the creation of the state, these experts took up a new role: creating boundaries (both external and internal) between Jews and Arabs, purifying the hybrids that inevitably exist on the margins of boundaries. The enchanted space of the Orient was destroyed, and its place was taken by expert discourses that reinforce the cultural separation between Jews and Arabs.

The Disenchantment of the Orient: Expertise in Arab Affairs and the Israeli State

History

Africa

Stanford University Press

In this historical study, Gil Eyal argues that before the formation of Israel, Jewish experts participated in constructing the Orient as both a metaphor for the rejuvenation of the Jewish nation, and an enchanted space populated by hybrid figures that mixed Jewish and Arab elements. But following the creation of the state, these experts took up a new role: creating boundaries (both external and internal) between Jews and Arabs, purifying the hybrids that inevitably exist on the margins of boundaries. The enchanted space of the Orient was destroyed, and its place was taken by expert discourses that reinforce the cultural separation between Jews and Arabs.

Middle East

The Origins Of Postcommunist Elites: From Prague Spring To The Breakup Of Czechoslovakia (Volume 17) (Contradictions of Modernity)

How is it that Czechoslovakia's separation into two countries in 1993 was accomplished so peacefully-especially when compared with the experiences of its neighbors Russia and Yugoslavia? This book provides a sociological answer to this question-and an empirical explanation for the breakup of Czechoslovakia-by tracing the political processes begun in the Prague Spring of 1968. 
Gil Eyal's main argument is that Czechoslovakia's breakup was caused by a struggle between two factions of what sociologists call "the new class," which consisted primarily of intellectuals and technocrats. Focusing on the process of polarization that created these two factions-and two distinct political elites-Eyal shows how in response to the events of the ill-fated Prague Spring Czech and Slovak members of the new class embarked on divergent paths and developed radically different, even opposed, identities, worldviews, and interests. Unlike most accounts of postcommunist nationalist conflict, this book suggests that what bound together each of these factions-and what differentiated each from the other-were not national identities and nationalist sentiments per se, but their distinctive visions of the social role of intellectuals. 
Gil Eyal is associate professor of sociology at Columbia University.

Europe

Univ. of Minnesota Press

Professional football is one of the most popular television genres worldwide, attracting the support of millions of fans, and the sponsorship of powerful companies. In A Game of Two Halves, Cornel Sandvoss considers relationship with television, its links with trans-national capitalism, and the importance of football fandom in forming social and cultural identities around the globe, to present the phenomenon of football as a reflection postmodern culture and globalization.Through a series of case studies, based in ethnographic audience research, Sandvoss explores the motivations and pleasures of football fans, the intense bond formed between supporters and their clubs, the implications of football consumption on political discourse and citizenship, football as a factor of cultural globalization, and the pivotal role of football and television in a postmodern cultural order.

Making Capitalism Without Capitalists: The New Ruling Elites in Eastern Europe

Making Capitalism without Capitalists offers a new theory of the transition to capitalism. By telling the story of how capitalism is being built without capitalists in post-communist Central Europe it guides us towards a deeper understanding of the origins of modern capitalism.

Business & Money

Townsley, Eleanor

Szelényi, Iván

Townsley, Eleanor R.

Economics

Verso Books

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Eyal, Gil. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Eyal, Gil

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Eyal, Gil. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

The Oxford Handbook of Expertise and Democratic Politics (OXFORD HANDBOOKS SERIES)

The Autism Matrix

The Autism Matrix

The Crisis of Expertise

The Crisis of Expertise

The Disenchantment of the Orient: Expertise in Arab Affairs and the Israeli State

The Disenchantment of the Orient: Expertise in Arab Affairs and the Israeli State

The Origins Of Postcommunist Elites: From Prague Spring To The Breakup Of Czechoslovakia (Volume 17) (Contradictions of Modernity)

The Origins Of Postcommunist Elites: From Prague Spring To The Breakup Of Czechoslovakia (Volume 17) (Contradictions of Modernity)

Making Capitalism Without Capitalists: The New Ruling Elites in Eastern Europe