Boundary-work and social closure in academic recruitment: Insights from the transdisciplinary subject area Swedish as a Second Language

Abstract This article explores practices of evaluation in academic recruitment Swedish as a Second Language (SSL), an expanding and transdisciplinary subject area. As is common elsewhere, academia relies on tradition external expert review intended to ensure meritocratic process. Here, we present analysis 109 written reports concerning 57 positions SSL during 2000–20. Because lacks institutional autonomy, spread across several sub-disciplines the humanities social sciences, material encompasses experts with diverse backgrounds. The are broadly characterized by qualitative assessment. In contrast other fields, seldom use quantitative proxy measures. Instead, they mainly rely received conceptions boundaries means justifying their inclusion exclusion candidates. dominant regularity consists attempts define delimit its core research areas, locate candidates core-to-periphery scheme respect these boundaries, rank them accordingly. mechanism closure serves restrict access qualifications that conform experts’ own SSL. show, internally ambiguous tend be constructed relation scientific habitus investments. Beyond evaluating applicants’ possession capital, distinctive style reasoning around skills thus involves power-laden boundary-work, which leaves ample room for individual, yet habitus-specific arbitrariness.