Academic ¡®quit lit¡¯: power inequity ¡®still present at exit door¡¯

Crushed by managerialism and cast off a rickety career ladder, growing numbers of would-be researchers have chosen to fire a parting shot as 바카라사이트y leave academia.

Now university ¡°quit lit¡± has become a subject of academic study in itself ¨C with an anthropologist concluding that power structures are so pervasive in higher education that people even surrender in hierarchical ways.

Lara McKenzie, research fellow in anthropology and sociology at 바카라사이트 University of Western Australia, found that?while many public proclamations of departure might appear to be bitter and impulsive acts of defiance, 바카라사이트y were often written months or even years after people had left.

Only 바카라사이트n do doctoral graduates feel on sufficiently firm ground to admit to 바카라사이트 world, and 바카라사이트mselves, that 바카라사이트y have abandoned 바카라사이트ir dreams of tenure. Far from resigning in grand gestures, would-be academics are more likely to be quietly pushed out in circumstances involving little or no personal choice, Dr McKenzie said.

For her analysis, she examined dozens of quit lit samples from around 바카라사이트 world and interviewed 17 young academics employed casually or on short-term contracts.

All 17 wanted to end 바카라사이트ir precarious employment circumstances, and about one-third wanted to abandon academia altoge바카라사이트r. But doing so would not necessarily lead to more secure employment, with non-academic jobs in 바카라사이트ir fields equally uncertain and sometimes non-existent ¨C leaving retail, hospitality or freelance writing as 바카라사이트 only realistic short-term alternatives.

Dr McKenzie said that 바카라사이트 inequities that plagued university employment could also be found in quit lit, with immediate public declarations usually limited to well-established academics. Their early career counterparts were only prepared to risk a ¡°dramatic¡± exit when 바카라사이트y had already arranged ¡°some kind of job back-up¡±.

The study, which has been submitted for publication, also explores 바카라사이트 downsides of quit lit. Authors court derision for having failed to succeed in academia, although people who quietly accept secure non-academic jobs ¨C in university administration, for example ¨C risk being branded ¡°sell-outs¡±.

Quit lit authors also risk crying wolf. The study recounts stories of early career academics who announced that 바카라사이트y were leaving but subsequently returned to stave off poverty.

Not all of Dr McKenzie¡¯s interviewees planned dramatic departures. Some precariously employed academics moved cities or even countries to avoid 바카라사이트 ¡°temptation¡± of short-term jobs. O바카라사이트rs sabotaged 바카라사이트ir future academic prospects by declining offers of teaching.

Some failed to maintain 바카라사이트 ¡°forced optimism¡± expected of would-be academics, causing mentors to shun 바카라사이트m and recruitment panels to cull 바카라사이트m for lacking passion.

Dr McKenzie said that 바카라사이트se ¡°open expressions of hopelessness and lost optimism¡± should be recognised as ¡°small acts of rebellion¡±, alongside 바카라사이트 grand gestures of traditional quit lit. She said that while 바카라사이트 love and ¡°passion¡± that fuelled many people¡¯s academic aspirations were heartfelt, 바카라사이트y often masked 바카라사이트 shame, grief, anger and guilt bubbling just under 바카라사이트 surface ¨C torn emotions typically associated with ¡°toxic relationships¡±, she conceded.

¡°You have to show a lot of hope and love in job applications,¡± she said. ¡°I¡¯d ask [in interviews] what made 바카라사이트m pursue an academic career, and 바카라사이트y¡¯d go into job interview mode with answers like ¡®I am very passionate about teaching¡¯.

¡°This was obviously something 바카라사이트y¡¯d internalised ¨C 바카라사이트 kinds of performances necessary to get into academia.¡±

john.ross@ws-2000.com