Abstract

This is an intriguing collection of reflections on the stability and instability of the ways in which we organize knowledge, and on how far the academic community can and should be involved in the shaping of public policy. To mark its centenary in 2002 the British Academy, the national academy for the humanities and social sciences, organized a programme of lectures on the current state of various disciplines and their future prospects. The authors of the eight essays and four commentaries are drawn from Britain, Europe and the United States.