What moves with us when we move? Possible Future Academic Selves in trajectories of exile

Kapitel i bok, 2025

Despite growing research on academic mobility, little is known about involuntary academic mobility and displaced academics’ participation in the knowledge economy. Drawing on Dörnyei's (2005; The psychology of the language learner: Individual differences in second language acquisition. Lawrence Erlbaum) L2 Motivational Self System, this study explores the Future Academic Selves of two UK-based Syrian academics supported by the Council for At-Risk Academics (CARA) to understand their experiences and trajectories of knowledge production in English while in exile. Data are collected through repeated interviews over 27 months. Findings show considerable differences in the participants’ changing visions of their academic future and their trajectories of publishing in English. Driven by his Ideal Future Academic Self image of an internationally recognised researcher, Ahmad increasingly saw himself as an active agent in the global knowledge economy in his discipline, while Nour's concerns about his precarious situation in exile shaped his Future Self of a “good-enough” academic with a settled residence status in the UK. Findings are discussed through the Possible Future Academic Selves lens and in relation to the academics’ participation in local and global knowledge economies. Recommendations are offered for programmes supporting academics in exile.