The Lives of Working Class Academics

Reviews / Votes

This compelling anthology of stories from academics who identify as having a working-class background offers new insights into our understanding of the relationship between academia and class.

Offering a substantial contribution to the body of research that uses autoethnography, the volume opens a platform for academic authors to reflect on their own lived experience through critical study of oneself and one's own socio-cultural context. The book is a useful resource for autoethnographic research and readers who want to understand the lived experiences of becoming a higher education professional; they will see farther and more clearly through the authors' lenses.

Although a working-class heritage under-pins the autoethnography of each of the writers, the intersections of social class with race and gender are also explored, providing in-depth knowledge about personal journeys into academic life.

While the legacy of elitism remains in higher education, and with very little history or class culture in the field of higher education to identify with, the volume can, give voice to and authenticate their experiences, and more importantly, challenge the dominant discourses that maintain and perpetuate elitism and exclusion within higher education.

The collection provides a solid foundation for students and academics, of important questions being asked about transitioning into academic life. -- Professor Giorgia Dona, co-director of the Centre for Migration, Refugees and Belonging, University of East London This book fully explores the developmental journey and experiences of working class academics, using an effective approach which brings together class, race, ethnicity, gender and the intersection between them.

Class issues which have long been sidelined are finally foregrounded and examined through a critical conversation focusing on the lives of academics whose backgrounds diverge from the middle class norm.

The book provides a platform for the authors to discuss who they are as academics, their family backgrounds and what it means to be a professional in the academy.

Burnell Reilly invites working class academics to write about their careers in higher education. This use of autoethnography is important as it generates a profound understanding of the lived experiences of individuals.

The work is compelling and makes a significant contribution to our insights into the predicament of working class academics. The book therefore has the potential to improve efforts to encourage more inclusive approaches to supporting the recruitment and advancement of those from less traditional backgrounds. -- Dr Victoria Showunmi, Associate Professor Institute of Education University College London This inspirational book critically analyses and reflects upon the journeys of colleagues from a working class background into the perceived higher echelons of academia, using autoethnography as its methodology. The stories are honest and impactful as they describe the often not straight-forward routes into higher education. Instead, the routes meander through education, seizing opportunities as they arise. Many academics recognize the imposter syndrome and feelings of not-belonging in a certain arena, with notions of class, race, gender, sexuality, and identity firmly ingrained into the culture. However, the contributors to this book have demonstrated a tenacity and attitude towards learning that has led them to where they are now, warriors and champions of widening participation.


This book will be useful to academics to reflect upon their own journeys but mainly to all who think that higher education and the world of academia is 'not for them', based upon their views and experiences of class, etc. Being the first in one's family to attend higher education and then pursue a career in it may feel challenging and daunting and could be accompanied by a sense of loss (of identity) and betrayal (of background). This book acknowledges those feelings through its reflexive and often cathartic accounts while also demonstrating what can be achieved. -- Dr Jodi Roffey-Barentsen School of Education University of Brighton As a postgraduate student, I have found this collection of autoethnographic studies to be an enlightening experience when considering my approach to my studies. The format of these autoethnographic findings has shown that there is another way possible, a way that allows a deeper examination of a subject that is so close to me and that allows me the scope to delve into it intensely. This collection has shown me the importance of personal power when discussing issues relevant to the self and how utilisation of that power can be cathartic while creating a deeper understanding from the perspective of the writer.


This interesting compilation has been invaluable to me as I take my next steps along my educational path, giving a powerful insight into how others have used an auto ethnographical approach to critically examine a variety of subjects. The book has been able to show the scope of this method and its possible uses within my work and I am sure it will be a helpful starting point for other students who are considering the possible structure of their studies. -- Joanne McLeod Post Graduate Research Student MA Education: Culture, Language and Identity Goldsmiths, London