In our popular Career Profile series, the AAS Committee on the Status of Women in Astronomy has compiled dozens of interviews highlighting the diversity of career trajectories available to astronomers, planetary scientists, and those in related fields. In a twist on this series, we video-interviewed students in astronomy and astrophysics to highlight their personal and academic career paths. The purpose of this series is threefold. It aims not only to give a voice and exposure to those who are up and coming in the field but also to give feedback to the Astronomical community at large about the experiences of students who identify as women. The hope is that these interviews will not only share advice and lessons learned but will shed light on how to encourage and inspire more women, from various backgrounds and skill sets, to follow space trajectories and reach towards the stars.
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| Libby Fenstermacher at AAS 245. |
A note from series creator Libby Fenstermacher:
Over the past year, you’ve all been introduced to almost a dozen students and young professionals within the astronomy and astrophysics communities. These interviews were comprised of women from various backgrounds, geographies, and with a multitude of variations in planned forward trajectory. The stories told over the course of this series were linked by throughlines in myriad ways, and all altogether reflect an overall picture of where the broad fields of astronomy and astrophysics stand in the minds of its future guides. One thing that every interviewee had in common was a strong and unhindered belief in themselves and a dedication to spreading the importance of their work for humanity's future.
This week, instead of an interview, please enjoy this brief presentation I put together for AAS 245 this past winter. As a sociologist, I am interested in what draws people, especially women, to STEM disciplines, particularly outer space-related fields. After interning at NASA Headquarters with Astrophysics in the Summer and Fall of 2024 (and again in 2025 for Earth Sciences), I became interested in the fields of astronomy and astrophysics in particular, which is what I am now completing my master's thesis on. The following presentation is related to this project and acts as a content analysis through the lens of sociologist Pierre Bourdieu’s habitus, capital, and field framework.
Habitus, in Bourdieu’s terms, is the set of ingrained dispositions shaped by socialization that we carry through life. It often operates outside awareness and can feel like identity itself. Habitus also shapes which forms of capital we can access and how we convert them within a field.
Capital comes in multiple forms. Bourdieu outlined three core types: economic, cultural, and symbolic. Scholars later extended this to include forms like educational, emotional, and scientific capital. The key idea is convertibility: one form can often be exchanged for another.
A field is a structured arena with its own rules, hierarchies, and culture, where actors at the micro, meso, and macro levels compete for capital, prestige, and power. Fields privilege particular habitus to keep things running smoothly and to make participation feel natural. When a person’s habitus aligns with a field’s expectations, they are more likely to feel competent and be recognized. When it does not, people can face friction and fewer opportunities. Some become stigmatized or step back from the field.
These dynamics influence field fit.
With these terms in mind, I invite you to watch the following video: What Would You Like To See For Women In Astronomy?
This week, instead of an interview, please enjoy this brief presentation I put together for AAS 245 this past winter. As a sociologist, I am interested in what draws people, especially women, to STEM disciplines, particularly outer space-related fields. After interning at NASA Headquarters with Astrophysics in the Summer and Fall of 2024 (and again in 2025 for Earth Sciences), I became interested in the fields of astronomy and astrophysics in particular, which is what I am now completing my master's thesis on. The following presentation is related to this project and acts as a content analysis through the lens of sociologist Pierre Bourdieu’s habitus, capital, and field framework.
Habitus, in Bourdieu’s terms, is the set of ingrained dispositions shaped by socialization that we carry through life. It often operates outside awareness and can feel like identity itself. Habitus also shapes which forms of capital we can access and how we convert them within a field.
Capital comes in multiple forms. Bourdieu outlined three core types: economic, cultural, and symbolic. Scholars later extended this to include forms like educational, emotional, and scientific capital. The key idea is convertibility: one form can often be exchanged for another.
A field is a structured arena with its own rules, hierarchies, and culture, where actors at the micro, meso, and macro levels compete for capital, prestige, and power. Fields privilege particular habitus to keep things running smoothly and to make participation feel natural. When a person’s habitus aligns with a field’s expectations, they are more likely to feel competent and be recognized. When it does not, people can face friction and fewer opportunities. Some become stigmatized or step back from the field.
These dynamics influence field fit.
With these terms in mind, I invite you to watch the following video: What Would You Like To See For Women In Astronomy?
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