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Forging Academic Identities from Within

Lessons from the Ancient World

  • Chapter
Identity Work in the Contemporary University

Part of the book series: Educational Futures: Rethinking Theory and Practice ((EDUFUT,volume 1))

Abstract

Recent changes within the globalised enterprise university have led to a ‘de-centring’ of the academic from many of the traditional core functions of the academy. This chapter draws upon ethical teachings from the Hellenistic era, the period spanning the death of Alexander the Great (c.356 – 323 BCE) to the founding of the Roman Empire in 31 BCE, to provide insights into the problems academics face, as they struggle to (re)formulate their identities within the contemporary academy. In particular, three schools of philosophy are explored: Cynicism, Stoicism and Epicureanism. The Hellenistic schools were offering different formulae for realizing self-sufficiency (autarkeia) on the road to overcoming perplexity or psychological turmoil.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Management, University of South Australia, Australia

    Susan R Robinson

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  1. Susan R Robinson
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Durham University, UK

    Jan Smith

  2. Durham University, UK

    Julie Rattray

  3. University of Sydney, Australia

    Tai Peseta

  4. University of Edinburgh, UK

    Daphne Loads

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Robinson, S.R. (2016). Forging Academic Identities from Within. In: Smith, J., Rattray, J., Peseta, T., Loads, D. (eds) Identity Work in the Contemporary University. Educational Futures: Rethinking Theory and Practice, vol 1. SensePublishers, Rotterdam. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-6300-310-0_2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-6300-310-0_2

  • Publisher Name: SensePublishers, Rotterdam

  • Online ISBN: 978-94-6300-310-0

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