The Poor Relation: A History of Social Sciences in Australia

Thorough and informative, this history examines the place of the social sciences—from economics and psychology to history, law, and philosophy—in the teaching and research conducted by Australian universities. Charting the changing circumstances of the social sciences and measuring their contribution to public policy during the course of 60 years, this account relates the arrangements made to support them and explains why they are so persistently treated as the poor relation of science and technology.