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Normalizing Disreputable Exchanges in the Academy: Libertarian Scholars and the Stigma of Ideologically-Based Funding

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Jeffrey L. Kidder
Jeffrey L. Kidder
Jeffrey L. Kidder
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Amy Binder at Johns Hopkins University
Amy Binder
Zosia Cooper
Zosia Cooper
Zosia Cooper
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Abstract

This paper examines how graduate students and professors talk about the funding they receive from libertarian-leaning organizations. Building from cultural economic sociologists’ insights on relational work, we analyze the meaning of money—in this case, politically controversial donations and grants—from the perspective of scholars who are supported by these types of funds. We integrate concepts from the organizational management literature on stigmatized job tasks to examine the discursive strategies scholars use to “normalize” the “contestable currency” they receive. Our theoretical synthesis allows for a nuanced understanding of how ideologically-based funding in higher education precipitates complex negotiations about the meaning of quality scholarship in higher education today.
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Vol.:(0123456789)
https://doi.org/10.1007/s11133-024-09586-6
Normalizing Disreputable Exchanges intheAcademy:
Libertarian Scholars andtheStigma ofIdeologically‑Based
Funding
JereyL.Kidder1 · AmyJ.Binder2· ZosiaCooper3
Accepted: 2 September 2024
© The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature
2025
Abstract
This paper examines how graduate students and professors talk about the funding
they receive from libertarian-leaning organizations. Building from cultural eco-
nomic sociologists’ insights on relational work, we analyze the meaning of money—
in this case, politically controversial donations and grants—from the perspective
of scholars who are supported by these types of funds. We integrate concepts from
the organizational management literature on stigmatized job tasks to examine the
discursive strategies scholars use to “normalize” the “contestable currency” they
receive. Our theoretical synthesis allows for a nuanced understanding of how ideo-
logically-based funding in higher education precipitates complex negotiations about
the meaning of quality scholarship in higher education today.
Keywords Charles Koch Foundation· Disreputable exchanges· Higher education·
Libertarianism· Relational work· Stigma
Introduction
Institutional donations and research grants are essential to the academic enterprise
(McClure 2019), especially in an era of shrinking federal and state support for
higher education (Blake 2024). For this reason, obtaining outside money is gener-
ally treated as an overall good for colleges and universities—a means for contin-
uing their mission of creating knowledge and training students. However, certain
types of funding can create suspicion from members of the campus community and
* Jeffrey L. Kidder
jkidder@niu.edu
1 Department ofSociology, Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, IL, USA
2 Department ofSociology, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA
3 Department ofSociology, University ofCalifornia, SanDiego,LaJolla, CA, USA
Qualitative Sociology (2025) 48:51–72
/ Published online: 4 February 2025
Content courtesy of Springer Nature, terms of use apply. Rights reserved.
ResearchGate has not been able to resolve any citations for this publication.
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