Conceptualising the academic self

Becoming an academic can be an overwhelming, if not a completely consuming experience, and conceptualising this process is often fraught with a lack of understanding of both the process and the subsequent implications. Many academics struggle with the notion of who they are, despite believing that they are aware of who they want to be and where they are situated on their academic journey. Academic organisations, too, are in a state of flux, functioning neither consistently nor homogenously. The entry criteria for working in higher education, for instance, is often the PhD. But this fails to prepare new academics for the general eclecticism of the sector, and securing a PhD in one institution and moving to another can prompt a significant existential shift in one’s perception of the self. In addition, many academics have had prior careers, yet the link between the two can seem tenuous and, in many cases, irrelevant. This chapter introduces the early academic journey and characterises it by liminality, uncertainty, and the gradual negotiation of identity. It examines the process some academics undertake when conceptualising the self and navigating through academia. It addresses valuable questions for academics to examine and articulate the self in one’s work, and it encourages the probing of the impact of academic engagement in higher education on individual fidelity to personal and professional values, beliefs, and assumptions.