‘People look at you like you’re mad if you say good things about academia’: Collective Negativity, Anti-neoliberalism, and Hostility to Institutions in UK Higher Education – The Dark Side of Solidarity?
Abstract
Contemporary UK academia is riven with discontent: academics perform dissatisfaction on picket lines and social media, critiquing the so-called “neoliberal” university. This article draws on interviews with academic staff across England to consider the implications of this turn to complaint, arguing that belief in the toxicity of neoliberal academia and a corresponding romanticised investment in a “golden age” of HE has become required thinking. Focusing on the perception that university management, as a metonym for the institution, are suspect, I conclude that the prevalence of this belief, and its normative status, may promote solidarity between academics, but at a cost. If there is space for solidarity, the common ground upon which it is built appears to be dissatisfaction, negativity, and vocal disavowal of contemporary trends. However, every collective act also contains tensions, contradictions, and exclusions, which may go unexamined, especially if the prevailing ideology is believed to be progressive.
Contemporary UK academia is riven with discontent: academics perform dissatisfaction on picket lines and social media, critiquing the so-called “neoliberal” university. This article draws on interviews with academic staff across England to consider the implications of this turn to complaint, arguing that belief in the toxicity of neoliberal academia and a corresponding romanticised investment in a “golden age” of HE has become required thinking. Focusing on the perception that university management, as a metonym for the institution, are suspect, I conclude that the prevalence of this belief, and its normative status, may promote solidarity between academics, but at a cost. If there is space for solidarity, the common ground upon which it is built appears to be dissatisfaction, negativity, and vocal disavowal of contemporary trends. However, every collective act also contains tensions, contradictions, and exclusions, which may go unexamined, especially if the prevailing ideology is believed to be progressive.
Keywords: academia; cultures; ideals; inequalities; neoliberalism; work
Document Type: Original Article
Publication date: January 1, 2024
- Philosophy and Theory in Higher Education is an international refereed scholarly journal committed to advancing understanding of the role(s) and purpose(s) of higher education. The journal strives to be inclusive in scope, addressing topics and issues of significance to a wide range of scholars and practitioners concerned with the relationship between higher education and society. Rigorous submissions informed by diverse philosophical and theoretical orientations, including, but not limited to, critical theory, existentialism, feminism, queer theory, post-colonialism, Marxism, liberalism, poststructuralism, postmodernism, and posthumanism will be welcomed. PTIHE aims to stimulate critical analyses of policy and practice in higher education, with an emphasis on inter-disciplinarity and international perspectives. The content will be primarily philosophical and theoretically-based research papers. Analytical papers that reflect on empirical projects will also be featured in the journal. Short responses to previous articles as well as essay reviews of new works in the field will be considered to promote ongoing critical dialogue within the journal. Proposals for special issues, with thematically linked papers, are encouraged.
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