Abstract
Recent developments in digital scholarship point out that academic practices supported by technologies may not only be transformed through the obvious process of digitization, but also renovated through distributed knowledge networks that digital technologies enable, and the practices of openness that such networks develop. Yet, this apparent freedom for individuals to re-invent the logic of academic practice comes at a price, as it tends to clash with the conventions of a rather conservative academic world. In other words, it may still take some time until academia and the participatory web can fully identify themselves with one another as spaces of ‘public intellectualism’, scholarly debate and engagement. Through a narrative inquiry approach, this research explores how academic researchers engaged in digital scholarship practices perceive the effects of their activity on their professional identity. Pierre Bourdieu’s concept of habitus is used as a theoretical construct and method to capture and understand the professional trajectories of the research participants and the significance of their digital practices on their perceived academic identity. The research suggests that academics engaged in digital practices experience a disjointed sense of identity. The findings presented in this article illustrate how experiences with and on the participatory web inform a new habitus which is at odds with a habitus that is traditionally expected in academia.
Highlights
As a space where intellectualism can be developed publicly and collectively, the participatory web is starting to be regarded as a catalyst for change, especially where knowledge work is concerned
The meaning of using the web for academic purposes, i.e., of ‘being’ and perceiving oneself as a ‘digital scholar’ (Weller, 2012) is epitomised by a renewed sense of professional identity among academics. This issue is worth exploring because the practices and, most importantly, the deployment of selfidentity as ‘digital scholars’, are an emerging phenomenon within the academic community
This section accounts for the research participants’ perceptions of their own practice and where it places them in terms of professional identity
Summary
As a space where intellectualism can be developed publicly and collectively, the participatory web is starting to be regarded as a catalyst for change, especially where knowledge work is concerned. When academics recognise the potential of the web as a space of participation, their approaches to how they communicate, discuss and disseminate This is an accepted author manuscript” (AAM) ( known as the “author post-print”) their scholarly work is likely to start taking on different dimensions (Hall, 2011; Veletsianos and Kimmons, 2011). Digital scholarship is starting a tradition of openness and transparency by placing a strong emphasis on a culture of knowledge sharing online In this sense, the participatory web consists of communication tools, applications and environments in which knowledge networks form as a result of individuals’ active participation as contributors and sharers of information. This issue is worth exploring because the practices and, most importantly, the deployment of selfidentity as ‘digital scholars’ (see own Author anonymised for review purposes, 2014), are an emerging phenomenon within the academic community
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