The Making Academic: Perspectives on Expressive Practice and Wellbeing in Higher Education (Wellbeing and Self-care in Higher Education)

By showcasing the experiences of making academics, this book advocates for higher education professionals to integrate creative practices into their lives, recognising the potential to facilitate personal growth, self-discovery, and alternative ways of knowing. Higher education contexts can be demanding, challenging, and rewarding and this book shares the practices of scholars who intertwine their intellectual pursuits with hands-on creative activities to support both their scholarly work and their wellbeing.

Presenting visual narratives and describing their experiences, the authors inspire readers to consider how creative expression can support fulfilment, meaning, purpose, and wellbeing in academic work and life. The chapters focus on the arts, making, creating, and creativity, highlighting the crucial role these making practices play in the embodiment of knowing and exploring the self. Ultimately, this book contributes to a broader conversation about the importance of valuing and nurturing various forms of creativity within the higher education sector, as a means of promoting wellbeing, self-care, and a more holistic approach to scholarship.

This is an essential read for individuals working in higher education at various career stages, as well as higher degree research students.

Narelle Lemon is a Vice Chancellor’s Professorial Research Fellow and Professor of Education in the School of Education at Edith Cowan University, Australia.

Sharon McDonough is Associate Professor and Teacher Educator in the School of Education at Federation University, Australia.

Mark Selkrig is Associate Professor in Education and the Arts at the University of Melbourne, Australia.