Gatekeeping and Social Closure in Academic Careers

Who becomes an elite member and why? As we know from the sociology of elites that elite status corresponds to societal status, power, and social background, the question arises to what extent scientific elite status is based on scientific performance and excellence or which other ascriptions constitute status advancement. Sociological studies on recruitment in elite circles point to the importance of cultural matching, which usually describes a fit between recruiters and candidates based on high culture (Friedman/Laurison 2020, Hartmann 2000, Rivera 2015). For science, however, there are hardly any studies so far that examine the "getting on" (Friedman/Laurison 2020: 9) within scientific careers regarding social background