What Are We Trying to Build?

Artist-Mothers in Academia on Creating Sustainable Careers

Abstract

This article examines the unique challenges of motherhood in academia, advocating for distinguishing between fixed and malleable constraints while leveraging artistic thinking to develop proactive strategies for a more fulfilling academic life. From an artist’s perspective, it argues that many constraints, often perceived as rigid, can be creatively reinterpreted and reshaped, empowering academic mothers to design their professional and personal experiences.

Drawing on a literature review, personal vignettes, and insights from artistic practices, the article explores how an artistic mindset can support the creative problem-solving needed to navigate intersecting identities. Much of academic life is shown to be malleable, like clay, allowing for adaptation in areas such as flexible scheduling, workload management, and household partnerships. However, certain aspects, metaphorically described as “rocks in clay,” resist change, including the tenure clock, the availability of affordable childcare, and campus climate. Recognizing and understanding these fixed challenges enable informed decision-making and strategies to work around them.

The article concludes by summarizing key insights and advocating for an artistic approach to academic life that benefits not just mother academics but all scholars. Additionally, it offers institutional recommendations to enhance the adaptability of academic structures, contributing to the broader discourse on academic motherhood and providing actionable insights for supporting the success and wellbeing of mothers in academia across disciplines.