@IndigenousX,
12 August 2020:
In
recent decades it has become increasingly common for higher education
institutions in so-called Australia to engage in institutional
branding and marketing which position their organisations as
‘inclusive’, ‘equitable’ and committed to ‘indigenising’
their curriculums and research practice. Goals of increased
Indigenous engagement, consultation, staffing, course content, and
student enrolment and completion rates are often noted within formal
institutional documents such as Reconciliation Action Plans (RAP).
They may also be noted in speeches performed by executive members of
the university, commitments made within Ethics applications as part
of research project and grant applications; and communicated via the
university’s online and community presence through social media and
marketing campaigns. However, this study reveals that how and by whom
such institutional goals and commitments are actually enacted within
the academy remains an ongoing point of tension, and one which
produces a significant burden on a minuscule workforce of Indigenous
academics.
It
is undeniable that Indigenous academics are in high demand, but with
less than 430 Indigenous academics currently employed within
Australian higher education institutions, and 69% of that cohort
identified as female, what does it look like to experience this
demand as an Indigenous academic woman? In 2019 I travelled this
continent and spoke with Indigenous women who are presently employed
within academic roles in Australian higher education institutions.
Due to their belonging to a small, highly identifiable workforce, in
order to ensure their anonymity, I cannot share the specific
institutions they work in or identifying features such as which
Nation group they belong to.
A
novel finding of this study, and the focus of this article, is that
despite being highly qualified within the academic system, and
sovereign beings of these unceded lands, Indigenous academic women
are often positioned as ‘black performer’ by their fellow
academics and colleagues…..
Read
full article here.
BACKGROUND
Academic
Paper
Amy Thunig Tiffany Jones
Received:
20 February 2020 / Accepted: 24 July 2020 © The Australian
Association for Research in Education, Inc. 2020
Abstract
In
an era where higher education institutions appear increasingly
committed to what Sara Ahmed calls ‘speech acts’ whereby declared
goodwill, through stated commitments to diversity, equity, and
increasing Indigenous student enrolment and completion have been
made; it is undeniable that Indigenous academics are in high demand.
With fewer than 430 Indigenous academics currently employed here on
the continent now commonly referred to as ‘Australia’, and 69%
of that cohort identifying as female, what does it look like to
experience this demand as an Indigenous academic woman? Drawing on
data collected from a Nation-wide study in 2019 of 17 one-on-one,
face-to-face interviews with Indigenous academic women, using
Indigenous research methodologies and poetic transcription, this
paper explores the experiences and relational aspects of Indigenous
academic women’s roles in Australian higher education.
