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Social Studies of Science
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Domination in a Scientific Field

Capital Struggle in a Chinese Isotope Lab

Wei Hong

Center of Science, Technology and Society, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China, 100084, hongwei{at}mail.tsinghua.edu.cn

This paper applies Bourdieu's theory of the scientific field to examine the sources of authority, reasons for conflict, and group dynamics in an isotope lab at a Chinese university. After 7 months of participant observation and non-structured interviews, I found that theoretical capital and technological capital are both used in the isotope lab. While both are associated with scientific authority, it was theoretical capital that determined lab members' social authority. Dominant and subordinate members of the lab applied different strategies to advance their interests. Conflicts of interest induced competition between the holders of theoretical and technological capital, which in turn caused interpersonal conflict. The specificity of the field of geoscience determines the relative power of technological and theoretical capital, and the low autonomy of the scientific field in China strengthens that hierarchy. I find that this hierarchy of scientific capital in the broader field can have a considerable impact on the social construction of experimental results in the local settings.

Key Words: China • field theory • geoscience • technological capital • theoretical capital

Social Studies of Science, Vol. 38, No. 4, 543-570 (2008)
DOI: 10.1177/0306312706092456
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