A (New) Look at Competition Among Women Scholars in Women’s Studies

Abstract

Until the present day, solidarity among feminist scholars is upheld as an ideological-political postulate in this particular scholarly community. These views continue to be upheld despite the increasing institutionalisation and professionalisation of research in women’s studies research. These institutional changes result in an increased sense of competition among feminist scholars, while women’s studies continue to occupy a rather marginalized position within the German university system. Andresen attempts to investigate which factors foster competition between women’s studies scholars in university settings. While this question is not an entirely new topic to feminist scholars, previous research tended to focus on competition among women scholars in general, rather than (female) feminist scholars. What makes Andresen’s study particularly innovative is her use of the subject-psychological approach of critical psychology and of Bourdieu’s habitus for her frame of reference. Thus, her analyses clearly reaches beyond discussions of subject-centered and structural explanations of the past. The empirical basis of this study consists of six qualitative interviews with female scholars in the social sciences and humanities. The six interviewees are habilitation candidates whose research pertains to women’s and gender studies. Andresen discovers interesting aspects of potential sources for competitive behaviours and experiences with competition among female feminist researchers. However, while Andresen offers many new analytical perspectives, she also poses many questions which are not answered by her data.