The Fluid Meanings of Abstraction: Higher Education and the U.S. News Rankings of Colleges.

The relationships between multiple individuals and multiple objects have always been mediated by the social process of abstraction, but the reliance on institutionalized abstraction is particularly prominent in a modern, capitalist society. Karl Marx, Georg Simmel, and Guy Debord have expressed different views regarding the process of abstraction; while in Marx?s writing the process of abstraction is portrayed as firmly based on materialist conditions, in Debord?s writing institutionalized abstraction could be relatively separated from the realities represented. The paper first compares the theoretical observations of these three theorists, and then uses the U.S. News and World Report college rankings as a case study to examine the latter form of abstraction characterized by Debord. Based on a document analysis of twelve issues of the USN rankings and a variety of secondary sources, the case study first identifies some peculiar aspects of this institutionalized abstraction process, as it creates divorces between the rankings and the use-values of colleges. The study then proceeds to analyze the basis of social legitimacy of this institution of abstraction by examining the theoretical justifications and practical changes undertaken by this institution in response to criticisms and social pressures. The relationship between the U.S. News rankings and the institution of higher education, implications for change, and the theme of ?culture,? are critically discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]