The project is based on the - not exactly new, but often suppressed - thesis that scientific methods and quality are not solely responsible for the genesis and reception of scientific knowledge. Rather, the right appearance is also decisive. Someone has to form themselves into a specific subject in order to be recognised by their peers as a scientist and present their scientific knowledge in a performative manner. The transformation from novice to player is the result of complex processes of subjectivation; they give rise to "thought collectives" and "thinking styles" (L. Fleck).

Publications (selection):

• Etzemüller, Thomas: "Ich sehe das, was Du nicht siehst". Zu den theoretischen Grundlagen geschichtswissenschaftlicher Arbeit, in: Eckel, Jan/Etzemüller, Thomas (eds.): Neue Zugänge zur Geschichte der Geschichtswissenschaft, Göttingen 2007, pp. 27-68
  
• Etzemüller, Thomas: The "Vf." as a biographical paradox. How does one become a "scientist" and (how) can this be observed?, in: Alkemeyer, Thomas/Budde, Gunilla/Freist, Dagmar (eds.): Selbst-Bildungen. Social and cultural practices of subjectivation, Bielefeld 2013, pp. 175-196
  
• Etzemüller, Thomas: Moving into the "true". Self-representation in the academic world, in: Merkur 69, 2015, H. 797, pp. 31-43 (also in: Eurozine, Oct. 2015, and in Deutscher Hochschulverband [ed:] Glanzlichter der Wissenschaft. An Almanac, 2016)
  
• Etzemüller, Thomas: "Poor lunatics", pseudoscientists and Friedrich Kittler. The anti-academic as a function and inner attitude, in: Mittelweg 36 26, 2017, H. 4-5, pp. 70-87
  
• Etzemüller, Thomas (ed.): The Performance. Performance in science, Bielefeld 2019
  
• Etzemüller, Thomas: "It's the performance, stupid". Performanz → Evidenz: Der Auftritt in der Wissenschaft, in: Ders.(ed.): Der Auftritt. Performance in science, Bielefeld 2019, pp. 9-43
  
• Etzemüller, Thomas/Eichler, Roman: "Still photography is a method of conference analysis", in: Etzemüller, Thomas (ed.): Der Auftritt. Performance in science, Bielefeld 2019, pp. 203-233
  
• Etzemüller, Thomas: Fast, public, tweet science: Appearance and image of scientists in the wake of the virus, in: INDES 10, 2020, H. 3, pp. 19-31