Academic ‘quit lit’ is an emerging genre of academic writing focused on authors’ reasons for leaving academia. Drawing on an analysis of this literature and interviews with precarious academics in Australia, Lara McKenzie discusses what this genre says about the current state of academia, those who leave it, and how not all acts of quitting are the same

McKenzie, Lara

English

LSE Research Online

Reading	Academic	Quit	Lit	–	How	and	why	precariousscholars	leave	academiaAcademic	‘quit	lit’	is	an	emerging	genre	of	academic	writing	focused	on	authors’	reasons	for	leaving	academia.Drawing	on	an	analysis	of	this	literature	and	interviews	with	precarious	academics	in	Australia,	Lara	McKenziediscusses	what	this	genre	says	about	the	current	state	of	academia,	those	who	leave	it,	and	how	not	all	acts	ofquitting	are	the	same.Every	year,	scores	of	precarious	scholars	leave	academia.	Academic	‘quit	lit’	–	personal	accounts	posted	on	blogs,social	media,	or	websites	–	helps	to	explain	why	and	how	they	are	departing.In	2018,	Erin	Bartram,	a	recent	history	PhD,	published	a	post	on	her	blog	about	leaving	academia.	Bartram	wroteabout	the	grief	and	pain	of	departing,	describing	her	experiences	of	precarious	academic	work	and	the	lack	ofcareer	prospects	in	her	field.	Her	post	was	read	worldwide,	spreading	so	fast	that	her	blog	crashed.	Within	4	days,	ithad	been	viewed	over	80,000	times.Bartram’s	piece	is	just	one	example	of	the	academic	‘quit	lit’	that	has	become	so	wildly	popular	in	recent	years.Drawing	the	admiration	and	ire	of	academics,	such	stories	tell	why	and	how	scholars	are	leaving.	These	tales	ofdisillusionment	are	especially	common	among	precarious	academics:	recent	PhDs	who	have	worked	in	short-term,part-time	positions	for	years	or	even	decades.These	scholars	had	once	been	passionate	about	their	work.	Reading	their	stories,	I	watched	thisevaporate.I	read	Bartram’s	account,	along	with	countless	other	pieces	of	quit	lit,	as	part	of	my	research	into	precariousacademics’	work,	lives,	and	aspirations.	Reading	more	than	a	few	accounts	a	day	was	gruelling.	Authors’	grief	anddespair	was	clear,	as	were	their	many	reasons	for	leaving.	They	spoke	about	the	misery	of	colleagues,	their	long-term	financial	difficulties,	and	mental	health	issues	worsened	by	precarity.	They	reflected	on	the	magnetic	pull	ofacademic	work,	describing	a	system	designed	to	erode	their	confidence,	so	that	a	permanent	position	became	theirsole	measure	of	worth.	These	scholars	had	once	been	passionate	about	their	work.	Reading	their	stories,	I	watchedthis	evaporate.Equally	emotional	are	the	many	criticisms	of	quit	lit,	labelling	accounts	as	bragging	or	reflecting	on	the	privilege	oftheir	authors.	Quit	lit	writers,	critics	argue,	should	appreciate	the	positives	of	academic	work	rather	than	spreadingpessimism.	Simply	reading	the	comments	on	quit	lit	pieces	shows	a	split	between	support	for	authors	and	denials	oftheir	reasons	for	leaving.	Some	express	sympathy	or	reflect	on	their	own,	similar	circumstances;	others	accusewriters	of	not	trying	hard	enough	or	propose	ways	that	their	careers	might	be	fixed.	At	the	same	time,	advice	onhow	to	leave	academia	has	proliferated.Impact of Social Sciences Blog: Reading Academic Quit Lit – How and why precarious scholars leave academia Page 1 of 3		Date originally posted: 2021-08-18Permalink: https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/impactofsocialsciences/2021/08/18/reading-academic-quit-lit-how-and-why-precarious-scholars-leave-academia/Blog homepage: https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/impactofsocialsciences/Regardless	of	where	one	stands	on	quit	lit	itself,	the	fact	remains	that	scores	of	early	career	scholars	are	leavingacademia.	Quit	lit	emerges	in	the	face	of	dire	employment	statistics.	In	the	U.S.,	the	proportion	of	graduatesentering	academia	continues	to	decline.	In	England,	only	about	one	in	200	PhD	graduates	will	become	fullprofessors.	Two	thirds	of	university	jobs	in	Australia	are	insecure,	with	similar	or	worse	figures	elsewhere.	Access	tohighly	desired	positions	is	unequal:	secure,	full-time,	and	senior	positions	are	disproportionately	held	by	white	men.Things	have	only	worsened	since	the	pandemic	began.	Early	in	2020,	Australia’s	government	announced	financialsupport	for	employers	in	exchange	for	keeping	on	their	employees.	Public	(but	not	private)	universities	wereexcluded	from	these	payments,	with	the	government	changing	the	rules	three	times	to	ensure	they	could	not	claimthem.	At	the	same	time,	the	government	closed	the	country’s	international	borders,	cutting	off	the	internationalstudents	that	universities	had	come	to	depend	on	financially.	The	impact	was	catastrophic.	More	than	17,000	stafflost	their	jobs:	13	per	cent	of	the	country’s	university	workforce.	Those	on	insecure	contracts	were	impacted	themost.	They	were	among	the	first	to	be	let	go,	or	simply	did	not	have	their	contracts	renewed.Given	all	this,	it	would	be	a	mistake	to	assume	that	precarious	academics	are	simply	fed	up	and	leaving	of	theirown	accord.	It	is	because	of	this	that	some	object	to	the	very	term	‘quit	lit’,	as	the	situations	it	describes	are	lessabout	choice	and	more	about	leaving	very	short-term	work.	Precarious	writers	of	quit	lit	are	not	simply	quitting.	Theyare	pushed	out,	not	rehired,	or	stuck	in	difficult	work	environments.	In	many	cases,	scholars’	contracts	simply	end,after	which	they	vanish.As	well	as	asking	why	people	leave,	it	is	crucial	to	ask	how	they	leave.	Here,	quit	lit	is	less	dramatic	than	its	namesuggests.	It	is	often	described	as	something	active	and	rebellious:	a	statement	to	the	academic	world.	Similarthemes	appear	in	social	science	research	on	‘quitting’	academia	in	the	United	Kingdom,	Australia,	and	worldwide.Quit	lit	is	rarely	about	burning	academic	bridges.	More	often,	it	reflects	on	the	author’s	emotional	experience	ofleaving	and	their	disappointment	with	academia.	One	quit	lit	author,	Ric	Rader,	describes	his	leaving	as	being	‘likethe	unremarkable	deflation	of	a	week-old	birthday	party	balloon’,	not	a	‘dramatic	and	righteous	mic-drop’.	It	is	worthremembering	that	much	of	what	is	called	quit	lit	is	written	in	hindsight	–	months	after	academics’	departures.Authors	publish	when	they	have	managed	to	find	work	elsewhere,	once	they	are	sure	they	will	not	need	to	return.Scholars	in	less	privileged	positions	expect	that	their	futures	outside	of	academia	will	be	just	as,	or	more,financially	unstable.	And	so	they	stay.Impact of Social Sciences Blog: Reading Academic Quit Lit – How and why precarious scholars leave academia Page 2 of 3		Date originally posted: 2021-08-18Permalink: https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/impactofsocialsciences/2021/08/18/reading-academic-quit-lit-how-and-why-precarious-scholars-leave-academia/Blog homepage: https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/impactofsocialsciences/My	interview	research	has	found	that	there	are	many	reasons	why	people	leave	or	stay	in	precarious	academicwork,	including	passion,	self-identity,	or	money.	Financial	difficulties	force	some	people	to	remain	in	precariouspositions	indefinitely,	and	here	there	are	clear	inequalities	based	on	gender,	class,	and	race	(as	in	academia	morebroadly).	Scholars	in	less	privileged	positions	expect	that	their	futures	outside	of	academia	will	be	just	as,	or	more,financially	unstable.	And	so	they	stay.	Defiant	acts	of	‘quitting’	remain	beyond	their	reach.Even	when	leaving	occurs,	it	is	not	always	definitive.	Several	of	my	interviewees	had	‘left’	academia	and	thenreturned;	others	had	voiced	their	intentions	to	leave,	but	remained,	as	they	had	been	unable	to	find	work	elsewhere.One	woman	in	her	early	30s	had	left	for	a	short-term,	non-academic	role,	with	colleagues	in	her	departmentthrowing	her	a	going-away	party.	Soon	after,	she	had	needed	to	return	to	precarious	work	in	her	former	department.More	than	anything,	studying	quit	lit	and	those	who	have	quit,	reveals	the	long-term	efforts	many	go	to,	to	becomesecurely	employed	academics.	Passion	for	scholarship,	as	well	as	hope	for	better	employment,	sustain	theseefforts.	As	I	and	others	have	shown,	these	emotions	work	to	maintain	inequalities	within	academia,	notably	thosebetween	precarious	and	more	securely	employed	academics.	Quit	lit,	meanwhile,	reveals	the	hidden	anger,	grief,and	relief	of	precarious	academics’	eventual	departures.	Too	often,	these	stories	are	understood	as	futilecomplaints	or	personal	stories.	To	fix	the	many	problems	of	academia,	these	tales	need	to	be	understood	asexposing	patterns	in	people’s	departures,	pointing	us	to	why	and	how	they	leave.	This	post	draws	on	the	author’s	paper,	Unequal	expressions:	emotions	and	narratives	of	leaving	and	remaining	inprecarious	academia,	published	in	Social	Anthropology.Note:	This	article	gives	the	views	of	the	authors,	and	not	the	position	of	the	LSE	Impact	Blog,	nor	of	the	LondonSchool	of	Economics.	Please	review	our	comments	policy	if	you	have	any	concerns	on	posting	a	comment	belowImage	Credit:	Adapted	from	Belinda	Fewings	via	Unsplash.	Impact of Social Sciences Blog: Reading Academic Quit Lit – How and why precarious scholars leave academia Page 3 of 3		Date originally posted: 2021-08-18Permalink: https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/impactofsocialsciences/2021/08/18/reading-academic-quit-lit-how-and-why-precarious-scholars-leave-academia/Blog homepage: https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/impactofsocialsciences/

Reading academic quit lit – how and why precarious scholars leave academia

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Reading academic quit lit – how and why precarious scholars leave academia

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