Writing as a form of resistance and professional autonomy

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.47408/jldhe.vi37.1764

Keywords:

writing as resistance, professional autonomy, human connection, embodied writing, academic community

Abstract

This mini keynote made an argument for looking at writing as a form of resistance in a world of AI-enhanced efficiency, and as an expression of professional autonomy, where writing offered us a space to think through ideas and experience joy and wonder in the process. We posited that writing could be a nourishing act that affirmed what made us uniquely human, offering the potential to increase our sense of professional satisfaction, happiness, and wellbeing. Through writing – a difficult and fraught act as it is – we have a chance not to surrender our individual selves but to continuously (re)create ourselves and (re)connect with our community, together forming an ecosystem of interdependent human intelligences for whom the goal was not necessarily proficiency in writing but staying invested in the process.

We invited the community to consider the following questions:

  1. How could writing and knowledge production create community, compassion and connection in higher education?
  2. How do we develop a writing culture with our students and colleagues? What might it look like?
  3. How can we connect with writing as an embodied process of thinking and feeling, and help others to see the freedom it offers as well?

Author Biographies

Carina Buckley, Southampton Solent University

Carina Buckley is the Learning Design Manager at Southampton Solent University. She has a Ph.D. in Archaeology, and is an Advance HE Principal Fellow and an ALDinHE Senior Fellow. She is a co-host of the Learning Development Project podcast and a member of the Editorial Board of the Journal of Learning Development in Higher Education. Her research focuses on the intersection of writing and identity, the relationality of collaboration, and the nature and practice of leadership without authority.

Alicja Syska, University of Plymouth

Alicja Syska is a Lecturer in Education at the University of Plymouth, UK. She has a Ph.D. in American Studies from Saint Louis University, USA, is a Principal Fellow of Advance HE (PFHEA) and an ALDinHE Senior Fellow. Alicja is Editor-In-Chief at the Journal of Learning Development in Higher Education, which she has led since 2019, and a co-host of the Learning Development Project podcast. Her research interests include writing, community building, Third Space identity, and researcher development.

References

Bender, E.M. and Hanna, A. (2025). The AI con: how to fight big tech’s hype and create the future we want. London: The Bodley Head.

Buckley, C. and Syska, A. (2025) ‘Lily Abadal: the value of slow thinking’, The Learning Development Project podcast, 22 August. Available at: https://aldinhe.ac.uk/networking/the-ld-project-podcast/ (Accessed: 19 September 2025)

Rosa, H. (2013) Social acceleration: a new theory of modernity. New York: Colombia University Press.

Rosa, H. (2019) Resonance: a sociology of our relationship to the world. Cambridge: Polity Press.

Syska, A. (2025) ‘We tried to kill the essay - now let’s resurrect it’, The LSE Blog, 27 February. Available from: https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/highereducation/2025/02/27/we-tried-to-kill-the-essay-now-lets-resurrect-it/ (Accessed: 22 August 2025).

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Published

30-09-2025

How to Cite

Buckley, C., & Syska, A. (2025). Writing as a form of resistance and professional autonomy. Journal of Learning Development in Higher Education, (37). https://doi.org/10.47408/jldhe.vi37.1764

Issue

No. 37 (2025): Special Edition, ALDinHE Conference Proceedings and Reflections

Section

Conference Proceedings

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