Dr Yvonne Couch - Academia and the Sense of Self
About this episode
Dr Yvonne Couch discusses the intertwining of academic identity and personal self-worth in her blog for Dementia Researcher.
Dr Yvonne Couch narrates her blog written for Dementia Researcher. In this blog, Yvonne reflects on why academia can become so tightly bound to identity, especially in careers where work has no clear end point and success is shaped by papers, grants, recognition, luck and timing. Prompted by a friend’s emotional decision to leave academia, the piece explores how academic life can blur boundaries between job and self, making rejection feel personal rather than professional. Drawing on ideas around enmeshment and identity construction, Yvonne argues that researchers need more than one way to understand their value. A broader sense of self, built through teaching, hobbies, writing, coaching, friendships and experiences beyond research, can help academics see themselves as more than their latest paper, grant, or career outcome. https://www.dementiaresearcher.nihr.ac.uk/blog-academia-and-the-sense-of-self/ -- Dr Yvonne Couch is a Research Fellow and Associate Professor at the University of Oxford. Yvonne studies the role of extracellular vesicles and their role in changing the function of the vasculature after stroke, aiming to discover why the prevalence of dementia after stroke is…
People in this episode
Host: Dementia Researcher
Guest: Dr Yvonne Couch
Topics covered
- academia
- identity
- career development
- rejection
- self-worth
Keywords
- academia
- identity
- rejection
- self-worth
- career
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: University of Oxford, Dementia Researcher
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