Academic writing as identity-work in higher education: forming a ‘professional writing in higher education habitus’

French, Amanda (2019) Academic writing as identity-work in higher education: forming a ‘professional writing in higher education habitus’. Studies in Higher Education.

[img] Text
writing in a higher education habitus.docx

Download (191kB)

Abstract

This paper reconceptualises academic writing in HE in order to explore how the symbolic significance and practical importance of academic writing in higher education is a constant presence, despite remaining elusive and difficult to define and/or execute in practice. I apply Bourdieu’s (1985 Bourdieu, P. 1985. “The Genesis of the Concepts of Habitus and of Field.” Sociocriticism 2: 11–24.
[Google Scholar]
) concept of ‘habitus’ and ‘doxa’ to take an ‘otherwise look’ at how academics gradually develop what I call a ‘professional writing in higher education writing habitus’ which both informs and constrains notions of professional identity in higher education. This ‘professional higher education academic writing habitus’ has multiple dimensions and is shaped by individuals’ writing experiences both within academia (at graduate, postgraduate and post-doctoral level) and beyond. In the paper's conclusion, I argue that a greater awareness of the tacitness and complexity of practices around academic writing have clear implications for academics wishing to develop a more confident and innovative approach to their own development as academic writers.

Item Type: Article
Identification Number: https://doi.org/10.1080/03075079.2019.1572735
Dates:
DateEvent
14 September 2018Submitted
16 September 2018Accepted
6 February 2019Published Online
Uncontrolled Keywords: Professional identity, academic literacies, career development, communities of practice, academic acculturation
Subjects: CAH22 - education and teaching > CAH22-01 - education and teaching > CAH22-01-01 - education
Divisions: Faculty of Health, Education and Life Sciences > Centre for Study of Practice and Culture in Education (C-SPACE)
Depositing User: Amanda French
Date Deposited: 01 Oct 2019 07:22
Last Modified: 03 Mar 2022 17:01
URI: https://www.open-access.bcu.ac.uk/id/eprint/7940

Actions (login required)

View Item View Item

Research

In this section...