Lived gendered experiences of precarity and non-belonging in everyday space-places of academia

This article explores gendered day-to-day lived experiences of (relatively) marginalised teaching-only academic staff on insecure contracts through the lens of space and place. It stems from a collaborative auto-ethnography focusing on the experience of two UK early-career academics on temporary contracts (at the time of this research) who occupy contrasting positionalities. Exploring gendered lived experiences of precariously employed teaching-only staff through joint walking interviews and auto-biographical reflections illuminated ways in which our sense of non-belonging was spatialised and reinforced in particular academic spaces. We share insights into multidimensional aspects of precarity, encompassing material, social, epistemic and affective experiential domains, with a particular emphasis on the pains and pleasures of learning and teaching. We consider some of the wider implications of precarity for learning, teaching and knowledge creation, and also signal possibilities and potentialities for creating moments and space-places for resistance and solidarity.