The Toxic University
Zombie Leadership, Academic Rock Stars and Neoliberal Ideology
1st Edition
Published on 23. June 2017
XII, 235 pages
978-1-137-54968-6 (ISBN)
Description
This book considers the detrimental changes that have occurred to the institution of the university, as a result of the withdrawal of state funding and the imposition of neoliberal market reforms on higher education. It argues that universities have lost their way, and are currently drowning in an impenetrable mush of economic babble, spurious spin-offs of zombie economics, management-speak and militaristic-corporate jargon. John Smyth provides a trenchant and excoriating analysis of how universities have enveloped themselves in synthetic and meaningless marketing hype, and explains what this has done to academic work and the culture of universities - specifically, how it has degraded higher education and exacerbated social inequalities among both staff and students. Finally, the book explores how we might commence a reclamation. It should be essential reading for students and researchers in the fields of education and sociology, and anyone interested in the current state of universitymanagement.
Reviews / Votes
"It is a must read for all of us in the academy, both old and new, and should be required reading within university leadership development programming as he invites us to think outside of the prevailing tide of neoliberalism and encourages us to become positive social reconstructionist in our thinking and activities." (Shelleyann Scott, Journal of Educational Administration and History, May, 2018)
More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Palgrave Macmillan UK
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Product notice
Reflowable
Illustrations
XII, 235 p.
File size
2,97 MB
ISBN-13
978-1-137-54968-6 (9781137549686)
DOI
10.1057/978-1-137-54968-6
Schweitzer Classification
Person
John Smyth
is Visiting Professor of Education and Social Justice at the University of Huddersfield, UK. He is also Emeritus Research Professor of Education at Federation University, Australia, and Emeritus Professor of Education at Flinders University, Australia. He is author of 35 books, a former Senior Fulbright Research Scholar, recipient of several awards from the American Educational Research Association, and an elected Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences in Australia.
Content
Chapter 1. Introduction: 'Getting an Academic Life'.- Chapter 2. Neoliberalism: An Alien Interloper in Higher Education.- Chapter 3. Why the 'Toxic' University? A Case of Two Very Different Academics.- Chapter 4. Why Zombie Leadership?.- Chapter 5. Cultivation of the 'Rock Star' Academic Researcher?.- Chapter 6. The University as an Instrument of 'Class'.- Chapter 7. The 'Cancer Stage of Capitalism' in Universities.- Chapter 8. Enough is Enough... of this Failed Experiment of Killing the Host.- Chapter 9. Get Off My Bus! The Reversal of What We have been Doing in Universities.
