Academic Capitalism and the Pandemic

School’s back. Alongside the usual challenges of managing college and university life comes sorting out how to keep people on campus safe during the Covid-19 pandemic. Colleges and universities are trying to find their way forward after a rough 18 months, with more difficult times to come. But while the pandemic has affected higher education, it’s done so against the backdrop of “academic capitalism”–a form of neoliberal managerialism that pervades the academy. On this episode of Darts and Letters, we speak with Gary Rhoades, professor at the College of Education at the University of Arizona and former general secretary of the American Association of University Professors about academic capitalism, rising resistance to it, and how the pandemic has changed the story. Or not.

——————-FURTHER READING AND LISTENING——————

• Start by checking out Gary Rhoades’ book, co-written with Sheila Slaughter, Academic Capitalism and the New Economy.
• Read this 2010 piece by him on what the American Association of University Professors stands for.
• Visit his homepage at the University of Arizona to find more of his work, including his 1998 book Managed Professionals: Unionized Faculty and Restructuring Academic Labor.

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—————————-CREDITS—————————-

Darts and Letters is hosted and edited by Gordon Katic. The producer for this episode is Ren Bangert. Our lead producer is Jay Cockburn. Our managing producer is Marc Apollonio. David Moscrop wrote the show notes and was a research assistant along with Franklynn Bartol.

Our theme song and music was created by Mike Barber, our graphic design was created by Dakota Koop, and our marketing was done by Ian Sowden.

This episode received support from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research, which provided us a research grant to look at the concept of “public intellectualism.” Professor Allen Sens at the University of British Columbia is the lead academic advisor. This is also part of a wider project looking at neoliberal educational reforms, led by Professor Marc Spooner at the University of Regina.

Darts and Letters is produced in Toronto, which is on the traditional land of Mississaugas of the Credit, the Anishnabeg, the Chippewa, the Haudenosaunee and the Wendat Peoples. It is also produced in Vancouver, BC, which is on the unceded territories of the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh Nations.