5: Who Do You Think You Are? Enmeshing Personal, Teaching and Research Identities in Feminist Work: The Personal Is Still Political

In the world of academia, who we are as individuals, the values we have and our purpose for working in education can be central to how we understand our roles, responsibilities and selves. Alongside values and purpose, a lifetime of embodied experiences can influence our view of the world, our thoughts about our lives and how we formulate our ethics to counteract dominant forms of neoliberal higher education. During the author’s time as a PhD student and then an academic, the author has found understanding self-identity and how it fits with and shapes the academic work essential. The author has continued to develop their self positioning by engaging with a range of academic writers, particularly the work of selected feminist writers and Antonio Gramsci. This work is familiar to the author and the author feels that the author ‘knows’ the writers through their work. The author has utilised this writing at various points over the past 20 years within their teaching and research. In this chapter, the author will explore the work of a number of key writers who have influenced their sense of self. The author will also reflect on how this work has shaped the teacher, researcher and person the author is today.