Bread & roses: voices of Australian academics from the working class

Abstract

Bread and Roses is an Australian first, a collection of stories from academics who identify as coming from working-class backgrounds. At once inspiring and challenging, the collection demonstrates how individual narratives are both personal and structural, in that they illustrate the ways in which social forces shape individual lives. Central themes in the book are generational changes in university education provision in Australia, the complexities of coming from a working class background and being female, or coming from a working class background and being female and a recent migrant, and the particular challenges facing students and staff from rural and regional areas. An essential read for anyone interested in widening participation programs in higher education, including administrators, academics, past and present students, Bread and Roses is both a map for those who want to undertake a similar journey and a community for those who want to join.