Boundary work
A key concept in the
sociology of science and of
the professions
j.mp/BoundaryW
What are boundaries?
Power differential between groups of people: e.g. professions
Overlap.
Boundaries are something that can be crossed; regulated; described.
E.g. patient/care provider; teacher/learner
Barriers. E.g. something that is regulated, through criteria
They are fundamental to the
study of social processes.
They are at the centre of a wide range
of research on:
– Class, ethnic/racial, sex/gender inequality;
They are at the centre of a wide range
of research on:
– Class, ethnic/racial, sex/gender inequality;
– Communities, national identities;
They are at the centre of a wide range
of research on:
– Class, ethnic/racial, sex/gender inequality;
– Communities, national identities;
– The professions, science and knowledge.
Lamont and Molnár (2002) defined
two types of boundaries:
social and symbolic.
Social boundaries
“objectified forms of social difference,”
widely-agreed-upon boundaries between
people (p. 168).
e.g. teacher/learner;
patient/provider; gender
boundaries: take different
forms; parent/child; race;
police/public.
Lamont and Molnár (2002) The study of boundaries in the
social sciences. Annual Review of Sociology. 28: 167-95.
Symbolic boundaries
“conceptual distinctions made by
social actors to categorize objects,
people, practices, and even time and
space” (p. 168).
e.g. brands; clothing; accents;
class; body weight; health
Lamont and Molnár (2002) The study of boundaries in the
social sciences. Annual Review of Sociology. 28: 167-95.
Symbolic boundaries
“conceptual distinctions made by
social actors to categorize objects,
people, practices, and even time and
space” (p. 168).
e.g. Urban; Competent;
Lamont and Molnár (2002) The study of boundaries in the
social sciences. Annual Review of Sociology. 28: 167-95.
Why do boundaries matter?
Protectionism: Arctic sovereignty;
Structuration of society: useful (harmful)
Desire to categorize: cognitive shortcut. Making sense of the world
Boundaries are relational:
they define us against them,
me and mine against the world.
They create, reproduce and change
hierarchies between groups of people, and
thus partly determine the trajectory of
individuals in society through allocation
of resources.
They are cultural, constructed. They are not
set in stone, but the process of conscious
and subconscious determination. They are
thus arbitrary and changeable.
Boundary work
What could “boundary work” mean?
Determination of what falls within a boundary/group
I agree!
Stratification.
Work that is involved in crossing boundaries; movement
around the boundary
Exploring the interface of boundaries
Deciding what is legitimate and illegitimate
Difference between interstitial and boundary work?
1995 referendum: fight for several boundaries
“Boundary work” was initially used in the
context of scientific knowledge
production (Gieryn. 1983).
Gieryn (1983)
Science has no fixed set of characteristics.
Rather, it is the result of scientists’
discursive positioning of what they do as
special, distinct from what others do.
Boundary work
Instances in which boundaries between
fields of knowledge are created,
advocated, attacked or reinforced.
Boundary work helps actors do three
things:
Boundary work helps actors do three
things:
– Expand their authority over new
domains;
Boundary work helps actors do three
things:
– Expand their authority over new
domains;
– It monopolizes authority and
resources;
Boundary work helps actors do three
things:
– Expand their authority over new
domains;
– It monopolizes authority and
resources;
– It protects professional autonomy
against encroachments by outsiders.
The concept has been borrowed
and applied in a wide variety of
ways in healthcare research.
Boundary work
Instances in which boundaries between
the professions or professionals are
created, advocated, attacked or
reinforced.
Can we think of examples of
boundary work in pharmacy?
In the way pharmacists do and define
science? In pharmacy practice?
Surgeons vs anesthesiologists: relative contribution to final
product; expertise.
Pharmacists can now vaccinate; they have moved the boundary
(but they are still limited in which types of vaccines)
?Creating a structure within admin databases
1. Boundaries
-
Can be social or symbolic;
Are fundamental to social life;
Are constructed and arbitrary;
Matter because they determine
access to resources.
2. Boundary work
-
-
Was initially introduced to talk about
the rhetorical demarcation of science
from pseudoscience;
Was brought to healthcare through
the study of the professions;
Is a helpful analytic lens to think
about the dynamics between the
professions and professionals today.
Boundary work
A key concept in the
sociology of science and of
the professions
j.mp/BoundaryW
To learn more (science)
Albert, M. et al. 2009. Boundary-work in the health research
field: Biomedical and clinician scientists’ perceptions of
social science research. Minerva. 47:171-94.
Gieryn, T. 1983. Boundary-work and the demarcation of
science from non-science: Strains and interests in
professional ideologies of scientists. American
Sociological Review. 48:781-95.
Lamont, M. & V. Molnár (2002) The study of boundaries in the
social sciences. Annual Review of Sociology. 28:167-95.
Shackley, S. & B. Wynne. 1996 Representing uncertainty in
global climate change science and policy: Boundaryordering devices and authority. Science, Technology &
Human Values. 21:275-302.
To learn more (professions)
Allen, D. (2000). Doing occupational demarcation: The
“boundary-work” of nurse managers in a district general
hospital. Journal of Contemporary Ethnography. 29:326356.
Mesler, MA. 1991. Boundary encroachment and task
delegation: clinical pharmacists on the medical team.
Sociology of Health & Illness. 13:310-31.
Mizrachi, N. & J. Shuval. 2005. Between formal and enacted
policy: Changing the contours of boundaries. Social
Science & Medicine. 60:1649-60.
Owens, K. 2015. Boundary objects in complementary and
alternative medicine: Acupuncture versus Christian
science. Social Science & Medicine 128:18-24.