Othering and its Impact on Teaching Opportunities in Australia: Gendered, Classed and Raced Subject Positions

Abstract

In this chapter, we explore the ways in which our different subject positions―as a white, working-class female academic and a migrant, female academic―have influenced our journeys as early-career teachers in Australia. We begin by outlining the unique conditions of early-career teaching within our HE context, for instance, while it is expected that most PhD candidates will obtain some experience as tutors or lecturers during their candidature, work is unevenly allocated, and permanent members of teaching staff distribute teaching contracts. In addition, it is important to note that PhD candidates are not provided with pedagogical training as a matter, of course. Drawing on debates surrounding the relationship between identity and academic labour, we explore how we have been able to obtain teaching experience through our PhD candidature and beyond. We then examine the significance of our identities on our practice as educators, emphasising how they have shaped our teaching practice. This narrative will be of particular interest to those negotiating their competing social and professional identities as early career academics and the implications this has for their teaching.