Academia from the Edges

Humanities Graduate Student Symposium 2023

Adaptability: Crossing Boundaries in the Humanities 

Brock University, Pond Inlet, Saturday, March 25, 2023 

Abstract: Academia from the Edges 

Grad school is an all-consuming experience, where we spend a glorious year or two immersed in our passions. But what happens when, either through choice or circumstance, we leave the academic setting? While MA programs train us for continued studies at the PhD level, that is not a possibility for everyone. But leaving the traditional academic route does not mean leaving your academic training and the passion you have for your discipline behind. In fact, I argue, those who engage with academia from outside the traditional structures are critical for the ongoing survival of our disciplines. In this presentation I will share some of what I have learned about doing academia “from the edges” in the ten years since I finished my MA, exploring the ways people stay connected with their disciplines while continuing to learn and grow as independent scholars.  

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About Alison

Photo of Alison Innes

Alison Innes is a researcher, podcast producer, and storyteller who believes that our best conversations help us better understand each other—and ourselves. She is passionate about the power of podcasts to create space for authentic, ethical, and vulnerable storytelling that connects people, ideas, and communities.

As a PhD student in Brock University’s Interdisciplinary Humanities program, Alison researches how podcasts foster trust, create connection, and help people make sense of ideas together. She is especially interested in how podcasting can build relationships, share stories, democratize knowledge, and invite more people into conversations that matter.

Whether she’s researching, producing, or holding space for conversations, Alison is guided by a simple belief: that when we share knowledge with curiosity, generosity, and care, we create opportunities to better understand each other.

Podcasting and researching from the traditional territory of the Haudenosaunee and Anishinaabe peoples in modern-day Canada.  Photo credit Kaitlyn Daw.

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