I Am Nel: Becoming (In)Coherent Scholars in Neoliberal Times

Abstract

In the neoliberal academy, scholars must regularly create multiple texts (e.g., statements about research agendas, CVs, tenure-related research narratives) about themselves and their work to produce themselves as subjects whose research can be described, quantified, and slotted into commonly accepted categories (e.g., fundable, high impact, quality, data driven). In this article, we question what is lost when it becomes natural and desirable to be recognizable as a singular and coherent brand within neoliberalism. Specifically, we make coherence visible as a mechanism of neoliberal audit culture rather than a stable scholarly goal. To do that, we engage with various textual strategies and media that enable us to think of and enact coherence differently again and again. We hope working both within and against coherence as a mechanism of neoliberalism opens a perpetual sensitivity about authorship, ownership, and coherent scholarship and welcomes the unknown and unforeseen in our academic careers.