Disappearing acts: resuscitative reflections on the academy

To resuscitate means to revive or make go on. This paper is an exploration of my first six months at a Canadian university as a doctoral student. Through a chronological narrative, I explore my experiences through the governing relations of the academy as a way to provoke dialogue about the role of feminist researcher in the institution. By comparing feminine subjectivity of the ‘woman returner’ (Hughes, 2002 Hughes, C. 2002. Beyond the poststructuralist‐modern impasse: the woman returner as ‘exile’ and ‘nomad’. Gender and Education, 14: 411–424. Taylor & Francis Online], Web of Science ®] Google Scholar]) through the character in a feminist science fiction novel the challenges of the academy find resonance and meaning in a reinvention of self.