The story of a shy academic

No place for introverts in the academy?

In today’s brave new world of university learning, students aren’t allowed to be shy, says Bruce Macfarlane

25 September

Reader's comments (3)

#1 Submitted by illuminatus on September 24, 2015 - 3:06pm

Oh yes. The hell of conference "networking". It makes me shudder, even as I sit at my desk, alone, writing this. I found Susan Cane's book rather refreshing, especially unpicking the often misunderstood distinction between shyness and introversion, and this article's discussion of maskenfreiheit is something that certainly chimes with me, in my professional life. An academic life is fine for introversion, but the modern day demands of "impact", leading to the need to "sell" yourself are hell for the shy (like me), who are not of course, entirely the same group.

#2 Submitted by neleh on September 28, 2015 - 11:19pm

A good article. In my book Silence in Schools (2012) I argue for pausing as a fundamental tool for education. Just as it would work well in schools, so too in higher education. But to get people to pause and not speak as Prof Moran here advocates is to break them. We need a culture of silence in higher education where silence becomes both academically sexy and vital.

#3 Submitted by inesmaria on January 7, 2017 - 8:02pm

it's awesome how much i relate to this given how little we have in common. i'm a millennial, grew up as extrovert and comfortable sharing my life through social media: years of posting automatically, without even considering the act of giving it any thought at all. but when i fell in love with sociological theory, my intellectual curiosity and the journey towards academia itself turned made an introvert as side effect. universities became sanctuaries where i could talk to people that understood.. and my social life grew shallower, and my social media prescence became a fulltime job. in the 'real world', my directness, inability to follow social etiquette, small talk, and email/communication protocols with my superiors makes me feel like an alien. like normal people skills i should have just failed to manifest. still, learning to sell myself as an academic and a social media extrovert without having the latter discredit the former, is quite difficult. would branding myself as an introvert academic who forgoes the shallowness of social media and lives in a personal intellectual house of solitude give me more credibility in academic circles? would the fact that i spend so much time in my social media personna as outgoing, fashionable and sellable influence how my work is perceived by my peers? .. it's a blurry line we have to work on.

The story of a shy academic

Joe Moran on the little-known benefits of being a shrinking violet

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No place for introverts in the academy?

Reader's comments (3)

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