“Boundary work” as a concept for studying professionalization processes in the interpreting field

Abstract

“Boundary work” is a concept that was introduced by Thomas Gieryn in the early 1980s in order to study the construction of differences between “us” and “them.” Although it was used in the first instance to study the rhetorical construction of differences between science and non-science, boundary theories have been further developed since then and are now used in various disciplines to focus on a range of topics, including the construction of boundaries between profession and non-profession. In this article I will present the concept of boundary work and outline a research project I have launched to examine the construction of sign language interpreters as an occupational group in Austria.