From the racially divided classrooms of apartheid to the diverse, yet occasion¬ally still segregated, lecture halls of today, South Africa’s higher education in¬stitutions remain both a mirror of national inequities and a potential catalyst for social justice. Despite the political shifts, racialised privilege, linguistic gate¬keeping, and gendered hierarchies endure; yet within these same spaces, we find agency, resilience, and moments of profound transformation. Negotiating otherness: academics’ experiences of social identity offers a deep and personal exploration of the life stories of nine academics and four alumni as they reflect on their unique journeys through South Africa’s complex, and ever-changing socio-political context. Negotiating otherness: academics’ experiences of social identity examines how personal stories illuminate social identity formation. Spanning six decades, from the 1960s to 2024, the book reveals apartheid’s lasting impact on institutional cultures and individual experiences. With ongoing challenges related to power, privilege and resistance in educational settings, the book shows how lives are shaped by race, culture, religion, language and age, first as learners, then as students, and later as academics.