Introduction: Feeling Academic in the Neoliberal University: Feminist Flights, Fights, and Failures

Abstract

The purpose of the introduction is to acquaint the readers with the rationale behind the feeling academic research project and introduce them to some of the theoretical concepts and framework that are used throughout the book. Some of the tensions, contradictions, and paradoxes about being a feminist academic and ‘feeling academic’ will be further theorized by paying attention to the causes and outcomes of ongoing restlessness. We pay close attention to what does it feel like being one foot inside and one foot outside in an era of labor precarity, increased competition, and uncertainty. Another vantage point to be pursued in this section is the how the unique emotional habitus of academia is created and deployed and how can feminism challenge this habitus and its affect and effects. The concluding section of the introduction provides a chapter overview including suggestions for a new research agenda for studies of emotions, academia, and feminist scholarship.