Corporate World Literature: Neoliberalism and the Fate of the Humanities

Higher education in America is undergoing some radical changes. Many within the academy fear that they are changes for the worse—and that the vision of the academy they believe in is on the brink of complete destruction. Whereas twentieth-century American professors enjoyed a high degree of control over university curriculum and the fundamental right to critically inquire into any subject without fear of losing their position within the university, academics in the new millennium are facing increasing degrees of curricular scrutiny, as well as department closures, unreasonable expectations, and job insecurity. This, coupled with the possibility of academic life without tenure and academic freedom, is fundamentally changing the manner in which many approach academe.