Curriculum vitae: from desired profiles to denied career paths

Abstract

Following Pierre Bourdieu‘s contributions as reference, this paper analyzes the logic of building a curriculum vitae (CV) as the official model for the public presentation of an academic and the practical effects (social and symbolic) the curriculum has as a “discourse about oneself”. Subsequently three theoretic and political problems implicated in the elaboration of the curriculum forms are reviewed: the hidden validity of discrimination, the negation of the indecision of academic times, and the practice of symbolic violence. The paper, questions the academicistic notion of academic excellence.