Transforming the Neoliberal Univeristy to Create Community and Care


Claire Polster, University of Regina

Drawing on my own and others research on the corporatization of higher education in Canada and elsewhere, I argue that the dearth of community and care in contemporary PSE is not simply a negative side effect of university neoliberalization, but an integral part of this process. As such, if we wish to cultivate greater community and care in our universities, we need intentionally and strategically to target key aspects of neoliberalization as part of our efforts. Both to concretize this argument and to clarify what such strategic interventions would entail, I discuss my efforts over the past two years to foster community and care in and through the content, and especially the pedagogical practices, of a third year course on the Sociology of Wellbeing and Happiness. Among other things, I address how practices of "ungrading", mandatory attendance, greater student autonomy and responsibility for course content, and a collective project to build community across the campus both challenged, and were challenged by, the neoliberal university. I close the paper with some reflections on the benefits and limitations of small-scale efforts to nurture community and care in PSE, and I offer some examples of more broad- based initiatives on the part of faculty, students, and citizens that promote community and care in and through their opposition to university neoliberalization.  

This paper will be presented at the following session: