Beyond Competitiveness? Academic Gift Culture and Its Discontents

Abstract

In this article, we explore various forms that giving and receiving may take in academia as well as ambiguous motivations, intentions, and outcomes of gifting. Based on responses elicited from fellow academics in written form and analyzed empirically through thematic coding, the article examines academic gifts along two axes: vertical (research grants) and horizontal (citation and epistemic sharing). Our results attest to the existence of what may be called ‘academic gift culture’ that presents an alternative to the ‘competitive struggle’ (Bourdieu) in the contemporary university where competitiveness, in view of scarce research funding and teaching positions, is especially pressing. However, we also show that this culture is not entirely opposed to or incommensurable with competition. Neither does it only convey noble feelings of devotion to science and academic collegiality but also enhances risks of dishonesty, leads to tension among peers, encourages partiality, and makes research dependent on uneven and whimsical donations.