Fast Professors, Research Funding, and the Figured Worlds of Mid-Career Ontario Academics

Heightened pressures to publish prolifically and secure external funding stand in stark contrast with the slow scholarship movement. This article explores ways which research expectations permeate “figured worlds” of 16 mid-career academics education, social work, sociology, geography 7 universities Ontario, Canada. Participants demonstrated a steady record accomplishment commitment justice their work. The analysis identified four themes related competing these described day-to-day lives: getting funded; life gets way; work being fast professor. spoke about achievements struggles. In some cases, they explained how positioning, including gender race, might have affected production, compared colleagues positioned differently. Their is funded, but suspect at lower level than studying conventional topics. aiming for impossible standards continuously successful record, individuals worked “all time.” Advocates claim that not really going slower, maintaining quality caring one’s yet participants’ accounts suggest few options other perform as “fast professors.” At mid-career, question whether can keep up this pace 20 or more years.