Navigating Scholarly Identities: Writing, Justice, and the Politics of Belonging in Academia

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session Saturday 3:45 pm
  In Roundtable Session: Being, Belonging, and Becoming in School and Community

Abstract

This research looks closely at how academic writing shapes—and is shaped by—the experiences of scholars, especially those early in their careers who encounter systemic barriers like racism, ableism, and exclusion. Through in-depth interviews with 25 participants, we trace how writing becomes a space of struggle, identity, and resistance. We consider how perfectionism and imposter feelings often reflect wider institutional norms, not just personal traits. By highlighting everyday strategies used by more established scholars to mentor others and reshape writing culture, this study argues for rethinking academic writing as a profoundly political and potentially transformative practice.

Author

• Lisa W. Loutzenheiser, University of British Columbia