The intended monograph, which is under contract for Routledge, will encourage renewed attention to academic disciplines. A central argument in the book is that disciplines matter – sometimes a lot – but the degree of their influence varies over time, across fields, and across countries. Hence, understanding the role of disciplines is essential if we want to study how knowledge is produced, the socialisation of researchers, career structures, the restructuring of higher education, educational reforms, and the relations between society and academia. By offering a conceptual and theoretical analysis, I hope to stimulate further research into disciplines, their role, characteristics, and influence. Moreover, in moving beyond traditional dichotomies, such as pure/applied or soft/hard, the monograph offers possible paths for a renewed understanding of disciplines, including how funding structures and evaluation practices shape the formation of research fields.

The project includes two longer visits at Humboldt University Berlin and Centre for Science and Technology Studies (CWTS) at Leiden University.