Prestige in Academia

En savoir plus sur le livre

Christian Poulsen explores the concept of prestige in academia, challenging the belief that universities operate solely on a meritocratic system. Through extensive surveys and focus group interviews with Swedish professors, he investigates whether female professors face discrimination in the transfer of merit to prestige, which is crucial for academic success. The study highlights the disparity in prestige distribution between genders, potentially explaining the underrepresentation of women in full professor roles. Poulsen bridges various explanatory models and compares his findings with studies from Spain. He concludes that women are not discriminated against regarding their merits related to prestige. Interestingly, while professors feel that the status of their profession has declined, female professors express greater satisfaction with their current standing. The research reveals that the prestige of Swedish professors is influenced by relational factors, not solely merit. Poulsen introduces the term 'consecrating moments' to describe how prestige is assigned relationally, countering the notion of a linear progression of good performance in academic careers. The work engages with sociology of education, feminist theory, and theories by Robert K. Merton and his followers. This study is based on Poulsen's PhD dissertation from the Sociology department at Lund University.