Producing anxiety in the neoliberal university
(2016) In The Canadian Geographer 60(2). p.168-180- Abstract
- This paper presents a theoretical analysis of the neoliberal production of anxiety in academic faculty members in universities in Northern Europe. The paper focuses on neoliberalization as it is instantiated through audit and ranking systems designed to produce academia as a space of economic efficiency and intensifying competition. We suggest that powerful forms of competition and ranking of academic performance have been developed in Northern Europe. These systems are differentiated and differentiating, and they serve to both index and facilitate the neoliberalization of the academy. Moreover, these audit and ranking systems produce an ongoing sense of anxiety among academic workers. We argue that neoliberalism in the academy is part of... (More)
- This paper presents a theoretical analysis of the neoliberal production of anxiety in academic faculty members in universities in Northern Europe. The paper focuses on neoliberalization as it is instantiated through audit and ranking systems designed to produce academia as a space of economic efficiency and intensifying competition. We suggest that powerful forms of competition and ranking of academic performance have been developed in Northern Europe. These systems are differentiated and differentiating, and they serve to both index and facilitate the neoliberalization of the academy. Moreover, these audit and ranking systems produce an ongoing sense of anxiety among academic workers. We argue that neoliberalism in the academy is part of a wider system of anxiety production arising as part of the so-called “soft governance” of everything, including life itself, in contemporary late liberalism. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
https://lup.lub.lu.se/record/20a7a035-b9ae-4d2f-9624-e845a21ee218
- author
- Berg, Lawrence D. ; Huijbens, Edward H. and Larsen, Henrik Gutzon LU
- organization
- publishing date
- 2016
- type
- Contribution to journal
- publication status
- published
- subject
- keywords
- neoliberalism, higher education, human capital, academic audit systems, anxiety and mental health
- in
- The Canadian Geographer
- volume
- 60
- issue
- 2
- pages
- 13 pages
- publisher
- John Wiley & Sons Inc.
- external identifiers
-
- scopus:84963777865
- wos:000388281800010
- ISSN
- 1541-0064
- DOI
- 10.1111/cag.12261
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- id
- 20a7a035-b9ae-4d2f-9624-e845a21ee218
- date added to LUP
- 2016-04-11 17:45:11
- date last changed
- 2025-04-04 15:02:25
@article{20a7a035-b9ae-4d2f-9624-e845a21ee218,
abstract = {{This paper presents a theoretical analysis of the neoliberal production of anxiety in academic faculty members in universities in Northern Europe. The paper focuses on neoliberalization as it is instantiated through audit and ranking systems designed to produce academia as a space of economic efficiency and intensifying competition. We suggest that powerful forms of competition and ranking of academic performance have been developed in Northern Europe. These systems are differentiated and differentiating, and they serve to both index and facilitate the neoliberalization of the academy. Moreover, these audit and ranking systems produce an ongoing sense of anxiety among academic workers. We argue that neoliberalism in the academy is part of a wider system of anxiety production arising as part of the so-called “soft governance” of everything, including life itself, in contemporary late liberalism.}},
author = {{Berg, Lawrence D. and Huijbens, Edward H. and Larsen, Henrik Gutzon}},
issn = {{1541-0064}},
keywords = {{neoliberalism; higher education; human capital; academic audit systems; anxiety and mental health}},
language = {{eng}},
number = {{2}},
pages = {{168--180}},
publisher = {{John Wiley & Sons Inc.}},
series = {{The Canadian Geographer}},
title = {{Producing anxiety in the neoliberal university}},
url = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/cag.12261}},
doi = {{10.1111/cag.12261}},
volume = {{60}},
year = {{2016}},
}