Reconstructing Identities in Higher Education: The Rise of 'Third Space' Professionals Seminar

Arising from changing environments in higher education, a new cadre of professional staff has been identified, who might be said to work in a 'Third Space' between academic and professional spheres of activity. The session will report on two studies that considered the implications of such developments for both institutions and individuals, describing identities that have tended to remain hidden within binary understandings of institutional communities. Narratives arising from the case material will be analysed, including ways in which staff work across academic and professional spheres to establish new spaces, knowledges, relationships and legitimacies.