Nyfikenhet som motivation och distinktion

Abstract

The aim of this article is to analyze the meanings attributed to curiosity. Specifically, we try to understand curiosity as cultural ideal in relation to international professional mobility among physicians and researchers in the medical field. Through in-depth interviews, we discuss our informants’ view on curiosity as well as its relation to a mobility practice that affects the professional’s choice of career options and place of work and thus their knowledge, in terms of both learning and production. How is curiosity narrated as a genre of academic mobility and how is it applied as a means of distinction towards less curious and less mobile colleagues? We problematize curiosity as a motive, ideals and practice; a pleasurable driving force weighed against family obligations and internal professional career requirements.