Authority, identity, and writing : a feminist perspective

Although more and more women are present in university, feminist scholars contend that we have been and often still are viewed as "other" in this context. This position of "outsider" can problematize academic discourse for women writers. This qualitative study explores the search for authority as academic writers among twelve re-entry women graduate students. This quest is explored as a social process within the university setting. The study argues that re-entry graduate women encounter the problem of "authority" at several levels: in their experience of self as academics; in their experience of the academic milieu; and in their relation to texts (their own and others). The data show that the lived experience of graduate studies confers on re-entry women an identity of not belonging and thus undermines their sense of authority as academics which they seek. Thus authority and identity, like writing itself, are revealed as social processes.This study tells the story of the re-entry women's academic experiences, of their anticipation and disappointment, indeed devastation when they encountered sexism, ageism and racism. Although the study highlights the difficulties these women have in university, it also shows how positive social relations with professors and other colleagues can have a profound impact on re-entry women. It makes clear that these women thrive on social support, that they value the professor who affirms their identity as becoming academics, who helps them achieve not only the knowledge of an expert but also the stance and the voice---in short, to develop their sense of authority