
Navigating Voices of Higher Education
A Poetic Ethnography of a University
Justin Nicholes(Author)
Routledge (Publisher)
1st Edition
Published on 28. July 2025
Book
Hardback
290 pages
978-1-032-91007-9 (ISBN)
Description
This fascinating book comprises a poetic ethnography, featuring poems that capture the experiences of students, professors, administrators, custodians, a chancellor, and other people who work in institutions of US higher education.
Using established poetic research methods, it invites readers to consider various points of view, while providing granular, concrete insight into working life at a US university. Across the volume, participants' interviews are analyzed through a lens of embodied cognition to explore the physical experiences and metaphors that university workers use when discussing their roles and lives. The result is a truly innovative and multilayered look at the lived experiences and emotions of individuals within the university setting, as well as the sense of community that comes from inhabiting the same social and physical spaces.
A vivid ethnographic picture of academic culture, this volume will appeal to qualitative and arts-based researchers, students, academic staff, as well as anyone interested in understanding more about the university experience through poetic ethnography.
Using established poetic research methods, it invites readers to consider various points of view, while providing granular, concrete insight into working life at a US university. Across the volume, participants' interviews are analyzed through a lens of embodied cognition to explore the physical experiences and metaphors that university workers use when discussing their roles and lives. The result is a truly innovative and multilayered look at the lived experiences and emotions of individuals within the university setting, as well as the sense of community that comes from inhabiting the same social and physical spaces.
A vivid ethnographic picture of academic culture, this volume will appeal to qualitative and arts-based researchers, students, academic staff, as well as anyone interested in understanding more about the university experience through poetic ethnography.
Reviews / Votes
"A lively voyage, navigating higher education in poetry. An imaginative ethnography of contemporary academe. Creatively manifest here are the people around a college, each with a voice, all with a role. At its core, this is a fascinating experiment in both story-telling and poetic discovery."Graeme Harper, Editor, New Writing: The International Journal for the Practice and Theory of Creative Writing
"Creative, inclusive, and powerful rendition of a poetic ethnography portraying a university community. Amplifying voices and experiences of every individual that makes up the university at large, Justin Nicholes centers on "embodied cognition" delving deeper into the experiences within the university community, ultimately influencing the future of the higher education landscape in the current tumultuous era."
Gloria Park, Professor of English, Indiana University of Pennsylvania, USA
More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Taylor & Francis Ltd
Target group
College/higher education
Professional and scholarly
Academic, Postgraduate, Undergraduate Advanced, and Undergraduate Core
Illustrations
10 s/w Abbildungen, 10 s/w Zeichnungen
10 Line drawings, black and white; 10 Illustrations, black and white
Dimensions
Height: 235 mm
Width: 157 mm
Thickness: 21 mm
Weight
602 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-032-91007-9 (9781032910079)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

E-Book
07/2025
Routledge
€60.49
Available for download

E-Book
07/2025
Routledge
€60.49
Available for download
Person
Justin Nicholes is Associate Professor of Rhetoric and Composition at the University of Wisconsin-Stout, USA.
Content
1. Setting Sail: Poetry, Work, and the University 2. Maintenance: The Shipwrights 3. Faculty: The Navigators 4. Students: The Voyagers 5. Administration: The Officers 6. Chancellors: The Captains 7. The University as a Community of Voyagers