Alternation 19,2 (2012) 38 - 56 ISSN 1023-1757 38 Gazing Inward: Teaching in the Postgraduate Milieu Ronicka Mudaly Abstract This paper focuses on a critical reflection of my practice as a woman academic who supervises the research work of postgraduate students, and who teaches collaboratively in a Masters level module in the higher education context. This epistemological vigilance is facilitated by my temporary withdrawal from teaching in order to analyse my modes of academic pedagogy and practice. Drawing on theoretical frames from feminism and cultural production theory, I use journal entries to reflexively explore my experience as a woman academic navigating the postgraduate landscape. The findings include a description of my learning in the workplace through three primary activities, namely, individual supervision, team supervision and collaborative teaching on a postgraduate module. I consider the intersecting influences of my age, gender, experience in teaching and research, and the hierarchy of different types of work, on my academic development by charting my individual journey from the undergraduate to the postgraduate terrain. The concluding remarks describe how the formation of partnerships can be achieved by working with a cadre of fellow academics. This team of academics shared the same values and practices about teaching and resulted in creation of a more authentic gestalt, and enabled postgraduate students to develop skills related to expression and critical thinking en route to becoming organic intellectuals. Keywords: teaching, postgraduate, gender, supervision, academic development, reflection