A key concept in the sociology of science and of

the professions

Boundary work

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.

– 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.

They are at the centre of a wide range of research on:

Lamont and Molnár (2002) defined two types of boundaries:

social and symbolic.

“objectified forms of social difference,” widely-agreed-upon boundaries between people (p. 168).

Lamont and Molnár (2002) The study of boundaries in the social sciences. Annual Review of Sociology. 28: 167-95.

Social boundaries

e.g. teacher/learner; patient/provider; gender boundaries: take different forms; parent/child; race; police/public.

Symbolic boundaries

“conceptual distinctions made by social actors to categorize objects, people, practices, and even time and space” (p. 168).

Lamont and Molnár (2002) The study of boundaries in the social sciences. Annual Review of Sociology. 28: 167-95.

e.g. brands; clothing; accents; class; body weight; health

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

1Boundaries are relational: they define us against them,

me and mine against the world.

2They create, reproduce and change hierarchies between groups of people, and thus partly determine the trajectory of individuals in society through allocation of resources.

3They 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/groupI 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).

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.

Gieryn (1983)

Instances in which boundaries between fields of knowledge are created, advocated, attacked or reinforced.

Boundary work

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.

Instances in which boundaries between the professions or professionals are created, advocated, attacked or reinforced.

Boundary work

?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

Σ- Can be social or symbolic;- Are fundamental to social life;- Are constructed and arbitrary;- Matter because they determine

access to resources.

1. Boundaries

Σ- 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.

2. Boundary work

?

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: Boundary-ordering 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. 29:326-356.

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.