Rankings as dispositifs in transnational academia

• In Event: 4366 - Section on Global and Transnational Sociology Refereed Roundtables (1 hour)
  In Refereed Roundtable 60min: 11. Knowledge and Standards in the Global and Transnational Arena

Abstract

Rankings have grown in importance in the last decades. This is particularly evident in, but not limited to, academia. In this paper, we want to take up this development and propose a power analytical take on rankings as a transnational(izing) phenomenon. In doing so, we make three contributions: (1) In the first part of the paper, we develop a conceptual definition of rankings: Rankings are devices of symbolic valorization, operating through subjectivation, zero-sum comparisons, quantification, and publication. We illustrate these characteristics for the most prominent forms of academic rankings. (2) Building on this, we bring forward an explanation for the success of rankings in academia and beyond: The proliferation of rankings occurred with a marketization of the academic field, through which it opened up for a lay audience. This is the backdrop against which rankings can function as dispositifs that link up different fields. (3) Related with the proliferation of rankings is their role in advancing processes of transnationalization: Rankings facilitate new modes of governance for hubs of state institutions, private corporations, media corporations, and data providers. Concluding our paper, we argue that rankings make a difference beyond rank orders. They prefer -- and are pushed by -- specific academic milieus, paradigms, and agents.

Authors

• Julian Hamann, University of Hannover

• Christian Schmidt-Wellenburg, University of Potsdam, Germany