Institutional Ecology, `Translations' and Boundary Objects: Amateurs and Professionals in Berkeley's Museum of Vertebrate Zoology, 1907-39

Item

Title

Institutional Ecology, `Translations' and Boundary Objects: Amateurs and Professionals in Berkeley's Museum of Vertebrate Zoology, 1907-39

Abstract/Description

Scientific work is heterogeneous, requiring many different actors and viewpoints. It also requires cooperation. The two create tension between divergent viewpoints and the need for generalizable findings. We present a model of how one group of actors managed this tension. It draws on the work of amateurs, professionals, administrators and others connected to the Museum of Vertebrate Zoology at the University of California, Berkeley, during its early years. Extending the Latour-Callon model of interessement, two major activities are central for translating between viewpoints: standardization of methods, and the development of `boundary objects'. Boundary objects are both adaptable to different viewpoints and robust enough to maintain identity across them. We distinguish four types of boundary objects: repositories, ideal types, coincident boundaries and standardized forms.

Author/creator

Star, Susan Leigh

Griesemer, James R.

Date

1989

In publication

Social Studies of Science

Volume

19

Issue

3

Pages

387-420

Resource type

en Background/Context

Medium

en Print

Background/context type

en Conceptual

Language

en

ISSN

0306-3127

DOI

10.1177/030631289019003001

URL

Official Publisher's Webpage (SAGE Journals)

Full-text PDF Shared by Author (Academia.edu)

Citation

Star, S. L., & Griesemer, J. R. (1989). Institutional Ecology, `Translations’ and Boundary Objects: Amateurs and Professionals in Berkeley’s Museum of Vertebrate Zoology, 1907-39. Social Studies of Science, 19(3), 387–420. https://doi.org/10.1177/030631289019003001

Abbreviation

Soc Stud Sci

Item sets

Handbook Chapter 20 Citations

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