Knowing your way within and across classed spaces: The (re)making and (un)doing of identities of value within higher education in the UK

Asking what exactly work is, where it takes place, who does it and for what benefits is a complex minefield raising concerns about the construction, recognition and remuneration of labour, implicating class positioning and power relations. Despite this, current debates about identity arguably place work itself as peripheral to how people now make sense of their lives (Kirk and Wall, 2011); some argue that individuals are no longer fixed or defined by the work that they do, instead being free to construct their identities. Yet, as has been widely highlighted, distinctions based on ethnicity, sexuality, class, disability, gender, age and religion are increasingly important in defining the role of ‘worker’ (Adkins, 2004; McDowell, 2008; Taylor, 2009, 2011).