Hilma Borelius - först på fältet

Abstract

Tliis article takes as its starting poinl Pierre Bourdieu^ field theory. This concept is applied to Hilma Borelius career. She was the first woman to acquire a Ph. D. in literature in Sweden. Borelius graduated in 1909 and although she did brilliantly she was excluded from the academic field for many years. One of Bourdieu's basic assumptions is that the human being is competitive in the field. This article claims that Borelius was not a fighter. When, in 1922, she after twelve years of outsidership, became acting professor for half a year it was requested by others inside the field. She had un til then never applied for a scholarship or any academic post. Nor had she fought for her subjects of research. Her old professors fougth for her. Thus, this artide claims lliat Bourdieu's view of competition is problematic when applied to a single woman. II Hilma Borelius had not succeeded in reentering the field she had probably been regarded as a failure. Would she have been regarded as a success if she had got her own chair?