ABSTRACT. In this paper, we examine qualities of fast and slow academia, creatively interrogating the challenges and value of setting and reclaiming our own s/pace and course amid the turbulent waters of the postmodern academic landscape. Engaging experientially with metaphor and the methodology of causal layered analysis, we reflect on lived experiences, academic trajectories (individual and collective) and the challenges of finding/following our heartfelt desires to go deeper (while the academy’s conflicting currents and dangerous undertows of performance and productivity threaten). Collaborating way-finders, we write as one, engaging decolonial inquiry. We lash our ships together to form a life raft, part of a flotilla of safe space to breathe, connect and collectively dream of uncharted oceans and new possibilities for academia. Our writing together is a reclamation of our intuitive compasses and ancient relational maps, a space to regain our bearings and refocus our sights on what matters most in these uncertain times. We argue for a deeper view of time and s/pace that values ancestral thinking. As ancestors of the future, we must reflect on our roles and responsibilities in and as the university, acknowledging and deciding the legacies we are shaping through our values, practices and actions. We must critically consider the educational practices we are living out and passing on, taking responsibility for the landmarks we are creating and leaving. Through this exploration of inner and external worlds, we are opening up and offering possibilities for different ways of knowing, being and listening in (and beyond) the academy.

Keywords: academia; decolonisation; futures; causal layered analysis (CLA); metaphor; imagery; wayfaring

How to cite: Westacott, M., Robertson, A., Siostrom, E., Elsom, S., Schriever, V., & Black, A. L. (2024). Navigating contemporary academia: Way-finder perspectives about s/pace, charting course and creating legacy. Knowledge Cultures, 12(3), 150-184. https://doi.org/10.22381/kc12320249.

Received May 31, 2024 • Received in revised form October 18, 2024
Accepted October 18, 2024 • Available online December 1, 2024