Academic Writing and Identity Constructions: Performativity, Space and Territory in Academic Workplaces

by Louise M. Thomas (Editor), Anne B. Reinertsen (Editor)

Overview

This book presents multiple cultural and contextual takes on working performances of academic/writer/thinker, both inside and outside the academy. With worldwide, seismic shifts taking place in both the contexts and terrains of universities, and subsequently the altering of what it means to write as an academic and work in academia, the editors and contributors use writing to position and re-position themselves as academics, thinkers and researchers. Using as a point of departure universities and academic/writing work contexts shaped by the increasing dominance of commodification, measurement and performativity, this volume explores responses to these evolving, shifting contexts. In response to the growing global interest in writing as performance, this book breaks new ground by theorizing multiple identity constructions of academic/writer/researcher; considering the possibilities and challenges of engaging in academic writing work in ways that are authentic and sustainable. This reflective and interdisciplinary volume will resonate with students and scholars of academic writing, as well as all those working to reconcile different facets of identity.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9783030016746
Publisher:	Palgrave Macmillan
Publication date:	12/14/2018
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
File size:	3 MB

About the Author

Louise Thomas is a consultant in Educational Leadership, and Honorary Fellow of the Australian Catholic University, Australia. Her research interests include identity constructions of teachers, leaders and researchers.
Anne Reinertsen is Professor in Education, Practical Knowledge and Philosophy at Queen Maud University College, Norway. Her research interests include philosophical and qualitative research, research methodologies and learning theories.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1. Stepping into the flow... Li(f)ve decomforting academic writing: smooth and striated spaces for being becoming performances; Anne B. Reinertsen and Louise M. Thomas.- Chapter 2. Territories and categories of academic writer: Possibilitising through the act/art of writing; Louise M. Thomas.- Chapter 3. The end of criticism producing unconscious: Non-personal academic writing; Anne B. Reinertsen.- Chapter 4. Editing academic writing: Productive erosion and erosive processes; Felicity McArdle.- Chapter 5. Being ourselves, naming ourselves, writing ourselves: Indigenous Australian women disrupting what it is to be academic within the Academy; Bronwyn Fredericks and Nereda White (with Sandra Phillips, Tracey Bunda, Marlene Longbottom and Debbie Bargallie).- Chapter 6. Academic writing from the depths: An auto-ethnographic and organisational account; Agnes Bosanquet.- Chapter 7. Working with text(ures) in academia: Be fast, even while standing still!; Ninni Sandvik, Ann SofiLarsen, Nina Johannesen and Bente Ulla.- Chapter 8. Making sense of reflexivity: A post-humanistic account; Nina Lunkka and Katja Sutela.- Chapter 9. Becoming a technical female: Academic writing in the cube farm; Melissa Gregg.

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

“This book is a breath of writing-fresh-air. Written with freedom and courage, and curated with imagination and energy, the book’s contributors invite the reader to think and write otherwise. They conjure new possibilities for writing as they consider its place within, beyond, and in resistance to, the academy. At once lyrical and political, theoretical and raw, this gorgeous collection is a welcome, urgent, vital intervention.” (Professor Jonathan Wyatt, University of Edinburgh, UK)

“This book fulfills a much needed gap in research about the complexity of academic identity construction. By exploring the notions of writing as performance, different perspectives come to light to show the ever changing landscapes academics navigate as they move between multiple roles and shifting contexts.” (Professor Susanne Garvis, University of Gothenburg, Sweden)

Editorial Reviews

The book is a nice collection of thoughts written by authors from varied backgrounds, but altogether, they make a virtue of the possibilities and complexities of genuine engagement in scholarly writing. … a great contribution to the much-needed gaps in research about complexity of academic identity construction. … This edited collection is a fruitful read and a valuable contribution to the debate on academic writing and identity-relevant issues and will undeniably appeal to academics who write their ‘self.’” (Mohsen Shirazizadeh and Foruq Rezvani Rad, Higher Education, Vol. 81, 2021)

“The book is a ‘breath of writing-fresh-air’ and an innovative addition to academic writing research. It is highly recommended to scholars working in education and educational discourse research.” (Baicheng Zhang, Higher Education, Vol. 80, 2020)

From the Publisher