Surviving, but not thriving: the politics of care and the experience of motherhood in academia

ABSTRACT

This article considers the challenges of juggling the demands of motherhood in the experience of early career researchers operating in the British neoliberal academy, and discusses opportunities for alliance and resistance.

KEYWORDS:

• Caring labour
• motherhood
• politics of care
• neoliberalism and academia

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes on contributors

Katharine Low is a practitioner and researcher in socially engaged theatre and sexual health. Katharine has written about her practice research, co-edited Applied Theatre: Performing Health and Wellbeing (2017) and has completed a monograph on sexual health and applied theatre practice in South Africa for Palgrave Macmillan. She is a Senior Lecturer at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama.

Diana Damian Martin is a writer and researcher working in performance. She is editor of (states of) wake: Dedicating Performance (2018) and On Time: A SPILL Reader (2018). Her work and research sit at the crossroads of writing, criticism, political theory and philosophy. She is a Senior Lecturer in Performance Arts at The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama.