Researchers often find themselves reflecting on either/or questions. This article examines the multiple discursive reality of gender equality, a topic comprising several juxtapositions connected to either/or thinking which also provide the topic its legitimacy. The examples come from the context of gender equality work and gender equality policy,…

According to the recent research, the educational system fulfills both an educational function (i.e., teaching and training students) and a selection function (i.e., determining students' future position in the social hierarchy), particularly in higher education. It has been argued that in the university system the selection function provides a…

This paper describes how students use language as a currency with which to navigate institutional structures and negotiate "fitting in" to social structures of higher education, paying particular attention to South Korea (hereafter Korea) and the English-speaking West. This paper emerged from a qualitative research study examining…

We outline structures of whiteness and analyze how forms of dominance embedded and enacted in higher education structures have been made salient, through a self-reflexive account of the authors' anti-cuts organizing. The authors implicate themselves, reflexively incorporating positions as a white, female, working class-raised doctoral student and…

This paper connects Bourdieu's concepts of habitus, dispositions and capital with a psychosocial analysis of how Winnicott's psychoanalysis and Honneth's recognition theory can be of importance in understanding how and why non-traditional students remain in higher education. Understanding power relations in an interdisciplinary way makes…

The employment of individuals, in all societies and all times, was the focal point of social structures. The economic theory provides the ability to understand the economic laws that are running in a society and gives us much knowledge how to significantly alter the economic structure of society or to bring about the desired changes. There is a…

Examines claims that the bodies of knowledge, standards, and methods of inquiry promulgated by the university are undemocratic, representing a hegemony of Western, middle class, male culture. Argues that this view is based on a social construction view of knowledge and points out problems with this view. (SM)

The Parsonian model of organization developed by Hills provided the foundation for studying the relationship between the structural effects of social structure and the perceived power of committees of a large university. This study was designed to examine through comparative field study the social values, organizational orientations, and social…

Most research in the area of attack-instigated aggression has examined the effect that different types and intensities of attacks have on promoting counteraggressive responses. Little research has been designed to identify why individuals counteraggress in response to attack or what can be done to deter attack victims from counteraggressive…

Examines common assumptions concerning the interrelationship between power and knowledge, and considers four ways that the power/knowledge argument can go awry: power as the cause of social inequity, categorization as discrimination, reason as repression, and the system as responsible. The paper encourages greater thoughtfulness in talking about…

Describes the evolution of feminist critical theory from a study of individuals' roles to the study of the interplay between gender relations and the institutional contexts within which they take shape. Surveys the writing of feminist theorists covering institutions, decision-making processes, cultural symbols, and everyday practices. (DK)

Argues that the integration of computers into English departments will have an immediate and significant impact on the social systems and communications within those academic communities. Suggests ways of responsibly distributing and using computer resources. (MM)

Proposes that one goal in teaching stratification is to illustrate how powerfully stratification shapes society. Discusses an effort to stimulate critical thinking through student research projects. Lists three goals: involve students in research; show how race, class, and gender impact everyday life; and clarify the importance of these issues to…

The relationship between power and knowledge is discussed, as it concerns the professoriate in higher education. Power and knowledge, it is argued, can vary independently. Although economic power influences faculty, they still possess considerable autonomy to shape education and to develop humanistic capacities of students. (PP)