Abstract
This introduction frames how experiences and understandings of imposterism manifest across intersecting inequalities, social locations, subject disciplines and institutional status. Across international contexts, everyday identifications with ‘imposter syndrome’ have become common currency in higher education (HE). We ask the awkward question of whether uptake of imposter syndrome as a framework for understanding (not) belonging is so prolific precisely because it can be easily detached from the entrenched inequalities shaping HE participation and careers. In attending to the social structuring of feeling like an imposter, we critically reflect on the theoretical and political utility of ‘imposter syndrome’ as a concept for understanding educational inclusions and exclusions. We query whether ‘imposter syndrome’ has become an empty referent without purchase and whether it can be wielded with specifically feminist force.
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Breeze, M., Addison, M., Taylor, Y. (2022). Situating Imposter Syndrome in Higher Education. In: Addison, M., Breeze, M., Taylor, Y. (eds) The Palgrave Handbook of Imposter Syndrome in Higher Education. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-86570-2_1
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