Belonging on Queer Terms: Rethinking Academic Literacies in EAP

Belonging is often assumed as an unquestioned goal in English for Academic Purposes (EAP): students are encouraged to integrate, adopt a single “academic voice,” and enter existing communities of practice. Yet for many LGBTQ+ students, belonging carries risks. It may require silencing parts of themselves, conforming to narrow definitions of academic identity, or accepting epistemologies that exclude their lived experience. This presentation explores belonging as a complex literacy practice that should be seen as an option that is negotiated rather than assumed or even imposed. Drawing on constructivist grounded theory research with five LGBTQ+ postgraduate researchers, the project develops the framework of queer academic literacies. Participant narratives highlight three processes that challenge conventional understandings of belonging. Queer aphasia describes the structural silencing of queer knowledge, where students censor themselves to appear “appropriate.” Queer multiplicity captures how students navigate parallel identities across academic and personal spaces, showing that belonging is rarely singular or stable. Integrity as resistance reveals the refusal to dilute identity for institutional approval, even at the cost of belonging. For EAP practitioners, these findings from empirical data raise critical questions: Should belonging always be assumed as desirable? How can classrooms create spaces where belonging is chosen and negotiated, rather than enforced? Practical implications include recognising student voice in curricular decisions, valuing multiple ways of knowing, and framing belonging as a student choice rather than an expectation. Attendees are invited to explore the complexities of belonging in EAP through queer perspectives.