So it has been quite a long time since I blogged -- mostly because the second half of 2015 was taken up with intense teaching and a return to fulltime work. Ironically, a lot of my research work is about how the home and domestic spaces are sites of enacting postcapitalist politics for different kinds... Continue Reading →
Academic mothering: reflections from guest blogger Dr Ann Hill
My friend and colleague Ann Hill has contributed a blog post for me today, inspired by the conversations we have had about managing our academic and mothering practices. Dr Ann Hill is a member of the Community Economies Collective, and has conducted research on food economies in the Phillipines. She is currently working on a... Continue Reading →
Update on Sleep Deprivation, or, Magnesium, where have you been all my mothering life?
Last week I was chronically sleep deprived, and even when my son was managing to sleep at night, I was often lying awake thinking about work and relationships. This has been an issue for me at stressful times during my PhD and my academic career, and especially when each of my children are between 1... Continue Reading →
Managing Maternity-related Gaps in your CV Part II: Upbeat ways to make caring work visible
When it comes to applying for jobs as a mother, there seems to be two approaches to explaining any gaps in your CV. The first approach is to maintain that 'My personal life is none of their business' and just not really deal with gaps at all, not mention your children or marital status or... Continue Reading →
Managing Maternity-Related CV Gaps Part I: The ‘ideal fit’
Early career researchers are often applying for a limited number of jobs in a really competitive market. In New Zealand, this is compounded by the fact that universities are partly funded by what is called Performance Based Research Funding (PBRF), a system where every few years, all our 'outputs' are entered and ranked and labelled... Continue Reading →
Small victory for breastfeeding on campus
Last year I bought a semester parking ticket because, even though I bike or walk in each day, my husband parks near my building and brings the baby up for a feed every day. This year, I was thinking about how much this cost us and how it was not really feasible for my husband... Continue Reading →
Breastfeeding and academic travel
So, I have been the primary income earner in all my 14 years of marriage. And in that time, I have had three children. I breastfed my first two for around two years each, and plan to do the same for my youngest. But my work requires travel. When I say 'require', I wouldn't lose... Continue Reading →