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Banal Bohemia

Blogging from the Ivory Tower Hot-Desk

University of Sydney, Australia, mgregg{at}usyd.edu.au

While academic blogging has emerged as a distinct genre in the past few years (Walker, 2006), a notable gap exists between those who blog from secure positions within the profession and PhD and junior faculty bloggers whose employment status is more marginal. This article draws on subcultural theory to discuss the unique features of these two latter types and the functions they serve for their authors. The analysis demonstrates that blogs are important sites of support for those who aspire to and currently work in academia at the same time as they are a powerful indictment of the job conditions experienced therein. The article therefore concludes by suggesting that the positive aspects of collegiality and solace taking place online for a new generation of scholars risk remaining disconnected from an effective labour politics — one that could change the very nature of the grievances blogs appear so well designed to express.

Key Words: academic labour • blogging • class • labour • subculture • weblogs

Convergence: The International Journal of Research into New Media Technologies, Vol. 15, No. 4, 470-483 (2009)
DOI: 10.1177/1354856509342345


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