ABSTRACT
In this reflection on a life and work the author uses the allegory of a house and her own untraditional career to illuminate the professional hierarchies that regulate academic lives and organizations. The narrative highlights how constructs of legitimacy and relevance are enacted and how experiences (students’ as well as academics’) can be marginalized. The author names structures of power and suggests the costs of compliance with accrediting bodies and other disciplining forces. At the same time, she honors the “backdoor academic”, the contributions that don’t fit and the solidarities that can push their way into the house claiming space and asserting their right to be heard.
