In the ever-changing landscape of ‘employability’, and vocational pathways in universities, our generation faces a new landscape for academia. Many students complete a PhD and find themselves with no way into a stable job in academia; even senior academics are on fixed contracts with little or no stability for the future.
This event would seek to ask: is the lack of support or funding; the continuing struggle for a more diverse curriculum and equal systemic treatment of students from different socio-economic backgrounds; the pressure to create field-changing work and no promise of job security once you do get through a PhD—are all these costs worth it for a career in higher education? Are there alternatives for those who want to 'think for a living'? What does the future of academia even look like?
The Panel
Dr Beth Guilding ? she/her
Beth Guilding completed her PhD at Goldsmiths in 2017. Beth’s thesis focused on the relationship between the child and adult self in the philosophy of Maurice Blanchot, from a combination of psychoanalytic, philosophical and literary perspectives. She has taught undergraduate and postgraduate courses as well as working with the Careers Service at Goldsmiths. Beth is the co-editor of Narrating the Passions: New Perspectives from Modern and Contemporary Literature (2017) and she is currently preparing her thesis for publication.
Jake Hall ? he/they
Jake Hall is a freelance journalist whose work incorporates numerous topics, from sex work and fashion to digital rights and music. He is also currently studying for a PhD in Gender & Sexuality through the University of Birmingham.
Dr Akanksha Mehta ? she/her
Akanksha Mehta is a lecturer in Gender, Sexuality and Cultural Studies at the Department of Media, Communication and Cultural Studies, Goldsmiths. She is also the co-director of the Centre for Feminist Research.
Roberto Mozzachiodi ? he/him
Roberto Mozzachiodi is a PhD student/Associate lecturer in Media and Communications and Anti-Casualisation Rep for UCU.
precariousatgold.wordpress.com
notesfrombelow.org/author/goldsmiths-workers-action
Galina Skvortsov ? she/her (chair)
Galina Skvortsov is a recent graduate from a master's degree in Literature and Literary Theory whose work centres on interdisciplinary approaches to political thought in the arts and theories of time in physics, philosophy and literature. She is currently the Co-Editor of a special Erasmus edition of the GLITS (Goldsmiths Literature) Journal.
warmhealer.tumblr.com
Head to RHB 137a. Sessions are open to all and children are welcome. Please register your interest here.
To inquire about travel costs or childcare costs being covered, email taylor@goldsmithssu.org for more details.