Lives of Working Class Academics : Getting Ideas Above Your Station

Traditionally academia has been seen as an elite profession, for those with an academic background and from the middle/upper classes. This is what makes the life of a working class academic all the more interesting, rich and powerful. How have they become who they are in an industry steeped in elitism? How have they navigated their way, and what has the journey been like? Do they continue to identify as working class or has their social positioning and/or identities shifted?

Iona Burnell Reilly presents a collection of autoethnographies, written by working class academics in higher education – how they got there, what their journeys were like, what their experiences were, if they faced any struggles, conflicts, prejudice and discrimination, and if they had to, or still do, negotiate their identities. Told in their own words the academics chart their journeys and explore their experiences of becoming an academic while also coming from a working class background.

Although a working class heritage under-pins the autoethnography of each of the writers, the interlocking sections between class, race, gender and sexuality will also be relevant.

Iona Burnell Reilly is a Senior Lecturer at the School of Education and Communities at the University of East London. Iona’s teaching background is in Further Education where she taught English (ESOL) and Access to HE courses for 10 years. She completed her doctorate at The University of Sheffield in 2013. Her research interests and published work are in social class and inequality in education, widening participation, equality and inclusion in higher education, and the experiences of working class students in higher education.