#11908. Serial Comparisons: How Repetition Matters : The Example of Art and University Rankings

July 2026publication date
Proposal available till 28-05-2025
4 total number of authors per manuscript0 $

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Journal’s subject area:
Sociology and Political Science;
Social Psychology;
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Abstract:
How do regularly repeated practices of comparing emerge, and what are their consequences? The article discusses this question conceptually and empirically by tracing the history of rankings of artists and universities. The conceptual analysis draws attention to the performative dimension of comparison (the “how” of comparing) and suggests that regularly repeated acts of comparing (serial comparisons) can determine temporal differences (temporal comparisons) and spur the development of novel interpretations of these differences (temporalized comparisons). The historical analysis shows how these temporal dimensions of comparing have been mutually enabling and stabilizing in the history of art rankings and university rankings. We conclude by arguing that focusing on patterns of repetition and regularity not only allows for a new approach to the analysis of modern practices of comparing and valuation, but it also sheds light on general problems of social theory, such as the historical formation of fields.
Keywords:
Evaluation; Fields; Institutionalization; Practices; Quantification

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