Back to Search Start Over

Practices of conformity and resistance in the marketisation of the academy: Bourdieu, professionalism and academic capitalism.

Authors :
Collyer, Fran M.
Source :
Critical Studies in Education; Oct2015, Vol. 56 Issue 3, p315-331, 17p
Publication Year :
2015

Abstract

The paper reports on an empirical study based on qualitative interviews with staff from four Australian universities. These universities are shown to be undergoing significant social change as processes of marketisation impact on the everyday practices of academic workers. The universities are analysed as sites of contestation between the new professional managers and the established academic profession over the control of the conditions of work, the production of expert knowledge and the worksite itself. The theory of academic capitalism is examined, and the relevance of Bourdieu’s work for the analysis of a university sector in a context of marketisation is assessed. Bourdieu’s interlinked concepts of capital, habitus and the field are employed to investigate the nature of the contestation, revealing a dynamic process in which academics innovatively respond to threats to reduce their autonomy, to increased levels of surveillance and other constraints on practice. In addition, the study illustrates the processes through which actors within the sector, through acts of both conformity and resistance, contribute collectively to the growth of academic capitalism in the neoliberal university. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Details

Language :
English
ISSN :
17508487
Volume :
56
Issue :
3
Database :
Complementary Index
Journal :
Critical Studies in Education
Publication Type :
Academic Journal
Accession number :
109305288
Full Text :
https://doi.org/10.1080/17508487.2014.985690