Inequality Seminar: The rise of the logic of quantification in Korean higher education

Hyunsik Chun and Mike Sauder from the UI Department of Sociology will present "The rise of the logic of quantification in Korean higher education," from 2-3:30 p.m. on Monday, April 24 in W113 Seashore Hall.

Drawing on a 22-month ethnographic study examining how a Korean university responded to university rankings, this paper traces the emergence and development of a “logic of quantification” throughout the institution. This case study allows us to carefully detail the ways in which both national and world rankings transformed the organizational structure and practices of the school. In particular, we show how a new organizational entity—the rankings management department—came to assert its influence over university governance and prompted dramatic changes in work expectations, surveillance, and accountability practices. Chun and Sauder then identify the micro-processes that help to maintain this new technical system and discuss what has been lost in this transformation. 

The poster for this event is available here. 

The Inequality Seminar is a seminar and speaker series that provides a forum on campus for faculty and graduate students who are interested in inequality broadly defined. It is an opportunity for faculty and graduate students to present their research and to hear about other inequality-related work from researchers on and off-campus.

The Inequality Seminar meets Mondays from 2:00-3:30 p.m. in W113 Seashore Hall. For the Spring 2017 schedule, click here.

If you are interested in hearing about future talks (which well be held each Monday throughout the semester), or if you have any questions about the Inequality Seminar, please contact Sarah Bruch at sarah-bruch@uiowa.edu.