Changing World
The world is changing. This is not a new idea: the world has never been the same, nor will it ever remain the same as it is at this moment. Heraclitus warned us about this when he said one could not step twice into the same river. Well, Plato’s version of Socrates’ version of what Heraclitus may have said warned us about it, anyway. In other words, the world is the same, except for everything in it.
A lot has been written in academic circles to explain or predict the many changes our world goes through. However, the academic wold – including humanities and social sciences – has always had a proclivity for distancing itself from the general public. Luckily, this tendency seems to be changing. With the rise of the information age, people have grown more aware of their surroundings, information has become instantly available, and distances shortened. Not only has society become more demanding towards accountability of public spending and decision-making, but scientific and technologic literacy is increasing. This inclusive tendency appears to be here to stay, and national and international institutions and organisations are becoming aware of this. Public awareness and understanding of science is becoming an important part of academia.
Changing World intends to contribute towards this inclusive transformation. It intends to provide accessible expert analysis and informed opinion about international issues, to make scientific research available to all audiences, to stimulate a constructive dialogue between social science and society.
Changing world is a multidisciplinary academic blog run by CEI-IUL.
Editor-in-chief: Inês Marques Ribeiro
Coordination: Ana Mónica Fonseca
Director: Luís Nuno Rodrigues
Changing World is financed with national funding by FCT – Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia, in the context of the project UID/CPO/03122/2013.
- The opinions expressed in this blog are solely the authors’ point of view and do not bind the Center for International Studies, its Director or any other researcher.