Academic tribes and territories : intellectual enquiry and the culture of disciplines / Tony Becher and Paul R. Trowler.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Becher, Tony.

Contributor:

Trowler, Paul.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Universities and colleges--Great Britain--Faculty.

Universities and colleges.

Universities and colleges--United States--Faculty.

United States.

Universities and colleges--Curricula--Great Britain.

Universities and colleges--Curricula.

Great Britain.

Universities and colleges--Curricula--United States.

Physical Description:

xv, 238 pages : illustrations ; 23 cm

Edition:

Second edition.

Place of Publication:

Buckingham ; Philadelphia : Society for Research into Higher Education & Open University Press, 2001.

Contents:

1 Landscapes, Tribal Territories and Academic Cultures 1

HE in the post-industrial environment 1

The globalized landscape 2

The phenomenon of massification 4

The regulatory state 6

The triple helix 7

Marketizing knowledge 8

Economy, efficiency and effectiveness 10

Patterns of growth and fragmentation 14

Changing landscapes, shifting territories 15

Levels of analysis 19

2 Points of Departure 23

Relating tribes and territories 23

The source material 25

Academic cultures and structural location 27

Some landmarks in the argument 28

The pieces of the patchwork 29

Restrictions and paradigms 31

Knowledge as portrayed by the knower 33

Characteristics of subject matter 35

3 Academic Disciplines 41

The nature of a discipline 41

Disciplines and organizational structures 41

Global disciplines: unity and diversity 43

Tribalism and tradition 44

Disciplinary socialization 47

Some relevant writings 51

Some complicating factors 54

4 Overlaps, Boundaries and Specialisms 58

Adjoining territories 58

Areas of common ground 60

The cause of unification 62

Disciplines under the microscope 64

The notion of a specialism 65

Some social considerations 68

Some cognitive considerations 70

Types of specialization 71

Frames of reference 72

5 Aspects of Community Life 75

The quest for recognition 75

The way to get on 78

Pecking orders, elites and the Matthew effect 81

Leading academics, gatekeepers and the exercise of power 84

Peer review and the process of validation 86

Networks and social circles 90

The influence of fashion 95

Reactions to innovative ideas 97

The revolutionary and the normal 100

6 Patterns of Communication 104

The life-blood of academia 104

Population density 105

Urban and rural scenarios 106

Informal communication channels 108

Formal modes of interchange 110

Speed, frequency and length of publication 112

Citation practices and their implications 114

Questions of style and accessibility 116

Competition 118

Collaboration 122

Controversy 126

Some significant distinctions 128

7 Academic Careers 131

Personality and environment 131

Recruitment and the choice of specialisms 134

The achievement of independence 136

The mid-life crisis 140

The end-point of active research 144

Personal matters 147

Women's academic careers 149

Race, ethnicity and academic careers 153

8 The Wider Context 159

The academy in the marketplace 159

Academics as social animals 161

Outside influences on specialist groups 165

Disciplinary status and power 170

Knowledge domains and social relevance 176

9 Implications for Theory and Practice 181

Tidying up the categories 181

The basic dimensions 183

Applying the taxonomy 186

Connections between categories 189

A further note on status 191

Diversity and its consequences 194

Managerialist intervention and academic autonomy 200

Mutual understandings and common causes 204

Appendix Data for the Initial Study 208

Subject coverage 208

Methods of data collection 208

Variables in the research design 211.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages [213]-235) and index.

ISBN:

033520628X

0335206271

OCLC:

45575714