Overview
This book reimagines what it means to begin an academic life by exploring the diverse, nonlinear, and often invisible paths that lead people into academic careers. Through essays blending critique and celebration, it gives voice to those who balance doctoral work with caregiving, activism, migration, and marginalization. The book challenges the myth of the “ideal academic” and expands the meaning of success in higher education. Readers will gain both insight and affirmation from this collection. The essays deliver practical wisdom and emotional resonance by weaving autoethnography, poetic inquiry, and narrative reflection into acts of resistance and renewal. The book’s approach is deeply interdisciplinary, drawing from feminist, postcolonial, and organizational theory, to reveal how structural inequities shape who gets to belong in academia. By modelling reflective, creative, and plurality of writing, it offers readers ways for reimagining mentorship, scholarly identity, and the rhythms of academic life itself. Starting Academia Differently is written for early career researchers, doctoral students, and academic leaders seeking to make universities more humane, inclusive, and imaginative. It will also resonate with educators, mentors, and practitioners in higher education who wish to support diverse trajectories and foster spaces where different kinds of scholarship, and scholars, can thrive.
Full Product Details
Author: Nicholous M. Deal ,
Kristin S. Williams
Publisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd
Imprint: Routledge
ISBN: 9781032869063
ISBN 10: 1032869062
Pages: 280
Publication Date: 09 July 2026
Audience:
College/higher education
,
Tertiary & Higher Education
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Forthcoming
Availability: Not yet available
This item is yet to be released. You can pre-order this item and we will dispatch it to you upon its release.
Reviews
""This book is a must read for anyone who thinks they might be suffering from Imposter Syndrome or feels that they don’t belong in Academia. The unique and diverse stories offered here prove that there is no linear path to becoming an academic. Each journey is different and full of twists and turns. The authors share their stories in a heartwarming and readable way that makes them a joy to read."" Jean Helms Mills, Saint Mary’s University, Canada ""Starting Academia Differently gives voice to those of us who entered the academy by walking the long road rather than the straight path. As an Indigenous scholar, I see in these pages an honest reflection of the colonial barriers that continue to shape who is deemed “hireable” and whose knowledges are deemed “credible.” The collection captures the tension of balancing institutional demands with the equally sacred responsibilities we carry - to family, community, and land. It also reveals how much courage it takes for many of us to step into academic spaces not built for us, and to keep showing up with integrity, heart, and purpose despite the weight of those structures."" François Bastien, University of Victoria, Canada ""Starting Academia Differently is both an important and enjoyable read. It questions the very notion and normalisation of the ‘ideal academic in the ivory tower’ and the taken-for-granted linearity of academic careers. The book illuminates today’s kaleidoscopic landscape of diversity, individuality and difference which manifests in a more complex — and at the same time richer — professional context of Higher Education. Drawing from critical, feminist and decolonial theories, this volume offers precious insights around some salient themes in contemporary academic careers: identity and belonging, marginalization and resistance, motherhood and care, cultural hybridity, and the reimagining of academic practice. The personal nature of the narratives also allows the reader to appreciate Higher Education as a contested situ of inequality, together with the many challenges academia poses to early career scholars. Starting Academia Differently offers a nuanced understanding of different ways of being an academic and inhabiting this professional context by delivering theory informed chapters which are also creative, evocative and personal, and sharing experiences across continents and socio-cultural backgrounds."" Ilaria Boncori, Essex University, UK ""Starting Academia Differently is a powerful reminder that scholarly lives rarely unfold in straight lines. Through personal and critical narratives, this collection captures the courage, complexity, and creativity of those who begin their academic journeys outside traditional routes. This book will undoubtedly encourage early career academics to embrace the legitimacy of their own paths and to claim their place in academia on their own terms."" Paulina Segarra, Universidad Anáhuac México, México ""Maybe business school professors can address grand societal challenges, but first that means rocking the boat. The storytellers here surprised me with how they navigated choppy waters so differently – using their own compasses, tacking in unexpected directions, braving storms, and sometimes landing in different harbors than they imagined. I cannot wait to share this book with my doctoral students as they start their own winding journeys. I know it will inspire them, and the cohorts that follow, to chart their own course – and then tell their stories, knowing they have a community of fellow travelers."" Maureen Scully, UMass Boston, USA
""The unique and diverse stories offered here prove that there is no linear path to becoming an academic. Each journey is different and full of twists and turns. The authors share their stories in a heartwarming and readable way that makes them a joy to read."" Jean Helms Mills, Saint Mary’s University, Canada ""As an Indigenous scholar, I see in these pages an honest reflection of the colonial barriers that continue to shape who is deemed “hireable” and whose knowledges are deemed “credible.” The collection captures the tension of balancing institutional demands with the equally sacred responsibilities we carry - to family, community, and land. It also reveals how much courage it takes for many of us to step into academic spaces not built for us, and to keep showing up with integrity, heart, and purpose despite the weight of those structures."" François Bastien, University of Victoria, Canada ""Drawing from critical, feminist and decolonial theories, this volume offers precious insights around some salient themes in contemporary academic careers: identity and belonging, marginalization and resistance, motherhood and care, cultural hybridity, and the reimagining of academic practice. It offers an understanding of different ways of being an academic and inhabiting this professional context by delivering theory informed chapters which are also creative, evocative and personal, and sharing experiences across continents and socio-cultural backgrounds."" Ilaria Boncori, Essex University, UK ""This book will undoubtedly encourage early career academics to embrace the legitimacy of their own paths and to claim their place in academia on their own terms."" Paulina Segarra, Universidad Anáhuac México, México ""Maybe business school professors can address grand societal challenges, but first that means rocking the boat. I cannot wait to share this book with my doctoral students as they start their own winding journeys. I know it will inspire them, and the cohorts that follow, to chart their own course – and then tell their stories, knowing they have a community of fellow travelers."" Maureen Scully, UMass Boston, USA
Author Information
Nicholous M. Deal is an Associate Professor of Management in the Department of Business and Tourism at Mount Saint Vincent University, Canada. Kristin S. Williams is an Associate Professor in Management with the FC Manning School of Business at Acadia University, Canada.
