ABSTRACT
Beneath the growing homogeneity and centrism of economics in the 1890s, ideological and methodological diversity in social science survived. Between 1895 and 1905 conflicting views and ambitions sought a variety of outlets as social scientists experimented in an effort to find safe and effective ways of expressing their differences. One such strategy involved attempting to conceal ideological interest groups behind a geographical facade, as dissidents tried to undermine the powerful American Economic Association by forming regional societies. Ultimately a second, more substantive pattern prevailed which, recognized differences in academic interests, political and social theories, and professional goals by creating discrete, formal divisions within social science. By 1905 political science and sociology were established as separate disciplines and controlled by autonomous professional societies. Thus a greater degree of diversity in social science was institutionalized while the outward appearances of academic unity were preserved.
