In this essay, I will tell the reader about the relationship between Academia-the person, Academia-the institution, and too many female academics. Through these experiences, I will offer examples of some of the typical abuse experienced at the hands of Academia. There is no happy ending to this relationship because so many of us did not stay, and too many are suffering in silence, not talking about their experience, following the advice of women that came before us, recommending we "don't say anything." The story will be concluded by a call for trust, transparency, and care; the suggestion for women to resist; and a demand for systematic institutional change.

Academic Misfits: Questioned Belongings in Higher Education presents powerful narratives, exploring the experiences of academics who want their voices to be heard. It highlights aspects of the academic world that need to be and should be changed to allow for more equitable experiences.

Internationally placed contributors share personal stories of the various ways they have been made to feel out of place in the career path of academia, including accounts of discrimination, careerism, injustices, and the weight of bureaucracy. This book will connect individuals with shared experiences, helping others find comfort, strength, and community in their feelings of misfitting. The authors advocate for more inclusion and independence within academia, where individuals aren’t forced into categories and are instead given the freedom to think differently and focus on the value they can bring.

This book is for all those involved in academia, especially those interested in a future that does not eject talented individuals because they might not fit in. Established field experts are encouraged to foster and take part in developing a sustainable and accepting research environment while doctoral students and PhD candidates are empowered to challenge the barriers, limits, and unfair treatment that is the status quo.

Upon receiving and reading the submitted chapters of this book, we were surprised. We did not expect to feel such a strong connection via the black words on a white background. We were not prepared for the feelings it would stir: recognition, dread, joy, but most of all kinship. This was our aim with this book, but we did not expect the power and the ease of connecting with these vastly different experiences and stories. We hope that you will feel this same connection. Our experiences, which prompted us to create this project, while unique, follow themes and patterns that many others also experience. If you have felt the crippling grip of imposter syndrome, felt like a misfit, or can identify with other themes that appear in our chapters; if you are in the academic world, or thinking of entering it; if you have gotten out or are just sniffing around, curious as to how exclusion works in the stuffy, book-covered offices of the universities, then this book is for you.

What makes an academic? Is it their unyielding devotion to research and teaching, their tendency towards a hermitic existence? Or does it have more to do with their socioeconomic privilege and racial profile? Are academics today any different from what society has always known them to be? How homogenous is the group of academics? Historically, academia was populated by men from the upper classes, often somewhat similar to each other. Over time, structures and procedures were established to ensure both scientific quality and academic exclusion. This chapter deconstructs the myths surrounding academics and the lives they lead within academia. Through shards of broken mirrors is the reader encouraged to look at a group of misfits that are the odd one out in most academic contexts that defy common classifications. Misfits that would like to devote only 40 working hours to academia instead of their whole being. Misfits that use the “wrong” theoretical lenses, unpopular methods, or undesirable contexts. Misfits that don’t fit in by matter of race, ethnicity, sex, or social economic class. Misfits that have found their misfitting family and hold on for dear life.

Användning av allt mindre mobiler och mer lättflyttade datorer gör att gränsen mellan vårt hem och vårt arbete gradvis suddas ut. Användandet av digital teknik möjliggör för skolor att finnas på flera platser, en utveckling som tydliggjorts under pandemin. Sociala medier har för många skolanställda blivit en naturlig del både i det pedagogiska arbetet och i den dagliga kontakten med varandra, elever och vårdnadshavare. Hur skolan formeras i en digital verklighet är därför en nyckelfråga för framtiden.

För att bidra till en bättre förståelse för digitaliseringens påverkan på arbetslivet och arbetsmiljön har vi genomfört ett forskningsprojekt med titel ”Ledarskap för ett hållbart digitalt arbetsliv: Teknikstrategier och arbetslivets gränser”. Projektet har finansierats av AFA Försäkring inom deras FoU-program “Digitaliseringens effekter på arbetsmiljön”.

Projektets syfte har varit att analysera hur styrning och ledarskap kan utformas i skolan för att tillvarata nyttan hos sociala medier och samtidigt skapa en hållbar digital arbetsmiljö för medarbetare och chefer.

Våra resultat bygger på ett omfattande empiriskt intervjumaterial, och ett mindre antal enkäter. Vi kan i våra resultat se att samtliga aktörer som är engagerade i skolan behöver diskutera hur man vill och bör använda sociala medier. I vissa fall kan det behövas en tydligare styrning, i andra fall kan det vara tillräckligt med en mjukare styrning med tydligt uttryckta förväntningar och levande diskussioner om hur man som lärare och skolledare ska förhålla sig till sociala medier. Sammantaget tecknas en bild där användandet av sociala medier inte bara suddar ut gränslinjerna mellan det privata och det offentliga, utan också utvidgar gränserna för den egna yrkesrollen. Berättelserna vi har fångat från olika aktörer visar på komplexiteten och svårigheten att styra sociala medier som befinner sig mellan privatlivet och arbetslivet. Vi måste därför förändra hur vi förstår skolan och skolans roll i en digital verklighet. Resultaten har spridits genom vetenskapliga artiklar, populärvetenskapliga artiklar i media och tidskrifter, samt genom möten med intressenter.