Details
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 483-509 |
| Number of pages | 27 |
| Journal | Sociological Forum |
| Volume | 38 |
| Issue number | 2 |
| Publication status | Published - 1 Jun 2023 |
Abstract
The structure of and recent transformations in science affect the structure of the academic field, and ultimately the actors themselves: Today, academics often experience pressure, stress, and emotional discomfort. In this contribution, we show how emotions such as fear and concern may arise in reaction to the contemporary conditions of academic life, and how these emotions can operate as elements of the hierarchies between human actors (scientists) and institutional actors (universities). Using qualitative interview data with scholars from the United States, we illustrate how fear structures the actors' social practices—and how fear is thereby translated into the positional structure of the academic field. We discuss two sets of relations—intra- and inter-institutional—that entail structuring mechanisms. We thus attest how fear as an individual trait and social characteristic becomes part of the (re-)production of the fields' hierarchy.
Keywords
- academic capitalism, academic field, fear, knowledge, rankings, symbolic domination
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Social Sciences(all)
- Sociology and Political Science
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In: Sociological Forum, Vol. 38, No. 2, 01.06.2023, p. 483-509.
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer review
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - “Fear Factor(y)”
T2 - Academia. Subtle Mechanisms of Symbolic Domination in the Academic Field 1, 2
AU - Beyer, Stephanie
AU - Schmitz, Andreas
N1 - Open Access funding enabled and organized by Projekt DEAL.
PY - 2023/6/1
Y1 - 2023/6/1
N2 - The structure of and recent transformations in science affect the structure of the academic field, and ultimately the actors themselves: Today, academics often experience pressure, stress, and emotional discomfort. In this contribution, we show how emotions such as fear and concern may arise in reaction to the contemporary conditions of academic life, and how these emotions can operate as elements of the hierarchies between human actors (scientists) and institutional actors (universities). Using qualitative interview data with scholars from the United States, we illustrate how fear structures the actors' social practices—and how fear is thereby translated into the positional structure of the academic field. We discuss two sets of relations—intra- and inter-institutional—that entail structuring mechanisms. We thus attest how fear as an individual trait and social characteristic becomes part of the (re-)production of the fields' hierarchy.
AB - The structure of and recent transformations in science affect the structure of the academic field, and ultimately the actors themselves: Today, academics often experience pressure, stress, and emotional discomfort. In this contribution, we show how emotions such as fear and concern may arise in reaction to the contemporary conditions of academic life, and how these emotions can operate as elements of the hierarchies between human actors (scientists) and institutional actors (universities). Using qualitative interview data with scholars from the United States, we illustrate how fear structures the actors' social practices—and how fear is thereby translated into the positional structure of the academic field. We discuss two sets of relations—intra- and inter-institutional—that entail structuring mechanisms. We thus attest how fear as an individual trait and social characteristic becomes part of the (re-)production of the fields' hierarchy.
KW - academic capitalism
KW - academic field
KW - fear
KW - knowledge
KW - rankings
KW - symbolic domination
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85147281066&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1111/socf.12881
DO - 10.1111/socf.12881
M3 - Article
VL - 38
SP - 483
EP - 509
JO - Sociological Forum
JF - Sociological Forum
SN - 0884-8971
IS - 2
ER -