ately what is expected of them when they find themselves in the
same room, and so they do, thanks to widely shared institutionalized
norms that regulate the system of national competition.^44 Trust in
the peer review system is crucial because, by definition, it rejects the
vast majority of applicants, who could easily lose faith. Thus this sys-
tem maintains representations of itself as open and driven by meri-
tocracy, in strong contrast with a not-too-distant past when acade-
mia conspicuously favored more culturally homogeneous religious,
ethnic, and class elites.^45
As the next chapter will make clear, in the context of this clearly
defined technology of peer review and the relative consensus that
surrounds it, the evaluative cultures of academic disciplines vary
greatly—so much so that it can seem like a minor miracle that con-
sensus emerges from this sea of differences, and that the black box
can actually produce awards.
52 / How Panels Work