Introduction: Out of the Ruins, the University to Come

Voices From the Margins: The Regulation of Student Activism in the New Corporate University

“…Student unions, inspired by the 2012 eight-month long student strike in Montreal, Quebec (dubbed the Maple Spring), are joining forces by mobilizing with other student unions to fight increases in tuition fees and the general onslaught of corporate relations within our educational institutions (Brownlee, 2015). Internationally, students and academics have started free universities, established academic-student research coalitions such as Edufactory, and are publishing widely in free presses (Hanke & Hearn, 2012). Together, these actions and others illustrate the extent to which students are willing to go to resist the increasing corporatization of our educational institutions.…”

Student Rights in an Age of Austerity? ‘Security’, Freedom of Expression and the Neoliberal University

“…Demands to produce research with monetizable results, the unceasing mantra of innovation, the preoccupation with techno-science, the administrative use of information and communication technologies for the integration of faculty into client self-service systems, the casualization and increased tiering of academic labour, the erosion of faculty self-governance, the growth of branch plant campuses overseas and the overt courting of international students and their lucrative international fees are other symptoms of the neoliberalized university (Hanke & Hearn, 2012). As the logics of capitalist, 'for-profit' accumulation move through and occupy university space and its functions, we bear witness to what the transnational collective edu-factory has named a 'double crisis': the simultaneous erosion of the meaning and epistemological status of both the university and broader conditions of labour and value in the economy at large (Edu-factory, 2009, p. 13).…”

Scholar-Activist Terrain in Canada and Ireland

“…(Holborow, 2012, p. 12) The (recently ousted) Conservative government under Stephen Harper in Canada actively pursued similar austerity economics, including closing libraries, muzzling government scientists, discontinuing important services provided by Library and Archives Canada, and harassing non-governmental organizations both legally and financially (especially those critical of the government). Although Canadian post-secondary education has certainly felt the painful brunt of such austerity politics, which have also served to compromise academic freedom, the damage has not (yet) been as extensive as that experienced in Ireland (de Peuter, Cohen & Brophy, 2015; Hanke & Hearn, 2012;Turk, 2014;Wyile, 2013).…”

“…Not surprisingly, individuals in a precarious labour situation were particularly concerned that the time and energy they dedicate to their activist commitments would prove detrimental to landing a full-time academic position or securing tenure (see in this issue, O'Flynn & Panayiotopoulos, and Manning, Holmes, Pullen Sansfaçon, Temple Newhook & Travers; see also Flood, Martin & Dreher, 2013;Kezar & Sam, 2013;Madeloni, 2014;Smeltzer & Hearn, 2015). Relatedly, there was strong agreement that their home institutions preferred more sanitized forms of 'community engagement' over activism that might disrupt the political and economic status quo on campus (and presumably put at risk the institution's 'brand') and off campus (jeopardizing funding from some of the institution's sponsors and alumni donors) (Flood, Martin & Dreher, 2013;Hanke & Hearn, 2012;Smeltzer, 2015;Vogelgesang & Rhoads, 2003).…”

“…Post-2008 economic crisis, academics are enduring and combatting greater corporatization on their campuses, the casualization of scholarly labour, more fervent pressure by administrations to demonstrate teaching 'outputs' and monetizable research 'inputs', and, in some cases, threats to their academic freedom (e.g., Bailey & Freedman, 2011;Côté & Allahar, 2011;Hanke & Hearn, 2012;Lynch, Crean & Moran, 2010;Mercille & Murphy, 2015;Nussbaum, 2010;Slaughter & Rhoades, 2004;Tuchman, 2011;Turk, 2014). Moreover, when combined with family and other personal obligations, the publish or perish ethic of the profession means that a commitment to activist-oriented endeavours which promote social justice is often difficult to sustain (e.g., Few, Piercy & Stremmel, 2007;hooks, 1994;Napoli & Aslama, 2011;Rodino-Colocino, 2012;Smeltzer, 2012;Ward, 2005).…”