Surviving British Academia in the time of COVID–19: A Critical Autoethnography of a Woman of Color

Abstract

This critical autoethnography is an account of my experiences as a woman of color (WoC) academic at a predominantly White institution in the times of COVID–19 and the consequential turn to online teaching and learning. It reflects on how the pandemic has exacerbated my experiences of discrimination, marginalization, isolation, and the struggles to find a balance between my personal and professional identities. Guided by intersectionality, the article explores the ways in which multiple forms of inequality are perpetuated within academia through my own lived experiences. It also explores the ways in which I, as a WoC and an early career academic (ECA), learned to navigate the intersections of gender, race, ethnicity, and motherhood amid the pandemic. In writing this article, my hope is to adjoin the voices of WoC in British Academia calling for an urgently needed open dialog with those in positions of power.

Keywords

academia COVID-19 pandemic critical autoethnography ethnicity gender intersectionality motherhood race women of color

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