Paper Number
1648
Paper Type
Completed
Description
Professional identity is a means for continued livelihood and, in this digitizing world, is in constant flux. Constantly changing occupational roles and professional classes are liminal, that is, they are increasingly “betwixt and between” formerly legitimized, stable categories. If, as current writings on the future of work suggest, a need for liminality in work identities persists, how will institutions of higher education help their students acquire “permanent” liminality? Through the eyes of an administrator at a mid-sized higher education institution, we examine how a university creates a new learning environment under the umbrella of esports. The findings raise questions about digital transitions in higher education and about liminality and the future of work by highlighting esports as a liminal category. The study contributes to the literature on the future of work by offering insights into higher education challenges to “institutionalize” liminality and to prepare future digital professionals.
Recommended Citation
Ammeter, Tony and Jarvenpaa, Sirkka L., "Esports, Digital Professionals, and Higher Education: An Autoethnography of an Administrator’s Experience with Liminality" (2023). ICIS 2023 Proceedings. 4.
https://aisel.aisnet.org/icis2023/techandfow/techandfow/4
Esports, Digital Professionals, and Higher Education: An Autoethnography of an Administrator’s Experience with Liminality
Professional identity is a means for continued livelihood and, in this digitizing world, is in constant flux. Constantly changing occupational roles and professional classes are liminal, that is, they are increasingly “betwixt and between” formerly legitimized, stable categories. If, as current writings on the future of work suggest, a need for liminality in work identities persists, how will institutions of higher education help their students acquire “permanent” liminality? Through the eyes of an administrator at a mid-sized higher education institution, we examine how a university creates a new learning environment under the umbrella of esports. The findings raise questions about digital transitions in higher education and about liminality and the future of work by highlighting esports as a liminal category. The study contributes to the literature on the future of work by offering insights into higher education challenges to “institutionalize” liminality and to prepare future digital professionals.
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