6. ‘A Virtual Target Painted on my Back…’

This chapter is a personalised narrative of my own experience of living and working as an academic in Northern Ireland while also engaging in public debates around constitutional change. It documents a podcast recorded during a particularly difficult moment of post-Brexit discussions. Context is provided to explain the language of the title and why it remains appropriate for understanding how academics become targets in post-conflict societies. The blend of interview and reflection is intended to assist the ongoing project of lesson learning. The argument is that it continues to be essential for those in universities to engage proactively in wider societal debates after the cessation of violent conflict.