Searching for the sub-plot between the lines of Bologna: qualms and conservatism of the French academia in the face of European competition

This chapter focuses on French academics' interpretations of what the Bologna process means to their identity and their positions. Following a Bourdieusian approach, the French academia is studied as a multipolar space of social/intellectual positions and the above interpretations are decrypted within the specific types of relations governing this field. The chapter is based on an analysis of secondary data. The research work was supported by a grant from the Open Society Institute (Soros Foundation). The book features 13 contributions - most of them national case studies - from higher education researchers across Europe. It is published by Springer in the Netherlands in its higher education dynamics series edited by Peter Maassen.