Abstract

Engagement and scholarship do not always sit comfortably within the higher education institution in Australia. One cannot consider advancing, let alone redefining, the scholarship of engagement until there is a symbolic shift moving it from the periphery to the core of the university's mission. The imperative is to progress to second- and third-order issues, rather than to consistently operationalise first-order matters by merely ticking the boxes. Is the scholarship of engagement problematic because institutions are unclear about their role and do not necessarily know and understand themselves at a deep level? Current thought around engagement in both a northern and southern context highlight issues around identity for universities that do not fit in either space. Australian universities adhere to a traditional northern model, despite being geographically located in the South. This article thus makes a case for a repositioning of both ‘scholarship’ and ‘engagement’ in a way that privileges the Australian culture, environment and people. The aim of such a repositioning is to avoid polarisations and make it possible to move fluidly between the two narratives.