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Using data from interviews with academic staff in English higher education (HE), this paper investigates experiences of (un)belonging through administrative (il)legibility in relation to a figure termed the ‘hegemonic academic.’

Jessica Wren Butler contends that HE culture is dominated by competitiveness, that competitiveness is culturally associated with a highly-valued form of masculinity conceptualised by Connell and Messerschmidt as ‘hegemonic masculinity,’ and demonstrate that in a neoliberalised HE environment defined by precarity and insecurity, the need to emulate the gendered ideal of the hegemonic academic becomes increasingly urgent not just to succeed but to survive.

About the speaker

Jess Butler is a part-time, AHRC-funded doctoral researcher at Lancaster University, working across gender studies, sociology, and educational research. She also has over 10 years' experience in higher education professional services and research management, currently working as a Research Coordinator at Guildhall School of Music & Drama.

To be a part of this online event, please email Professor Maren Elfert to receive the link.