ABSTRACT
Vandra Masemann’s address was a critique of scientific positivism, but it was unlike the previous debates between humanists and social scientists that reached a crescendo in the 1960s. As the social scientific tradition became emergent, many believed that humanism was left behind. Some might wonder whether both the humanistic and scientific traditions are being overtaken by newer epistemologies and methods. The Institute’s demise just before World War II may have ushered in the beginning of the social scientific tradition, including at Teachers College itself, as illustrated by the works of Harold Noah and, in some respects, of George Bereday. However, it was at the University of Chicago’s Comparative Education Center, especially throughout the 1960s, where the social scientific tradition most decisively overshadowed the humanistic tradition. Heidi Ross, in her address published in 2002, referred to her perspective as ‘relational theorizing’, involving ‘an ethic of care’ and an intertwining of emotion, cognition, and action that is beyond rationality and verifiable knowledge.
