ERIC Number: EJ1048062
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2014
Pages: 27
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1755-2273
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
Neoliberal Individualism in Dutch Universities: Teaching and Learning Anthropology in an Insecure Environment
Bal, Ellen; Grassiani, Erella; Kirk, Kate
Learning and Teaching: The International Journal of Higher Education in the Social Sciences, v7 n3 p46-72 Win 2014
This article is based on our own experiences and that of several of our colleagues teaching social and cultural anthropology in different Dutch institutions for higher learning. We focus in particular on teaching and learning in two small liberal arts and science (LAS) colleges, where anthropology makes up part of the social science curriculum and/or is part of the core curriculum. The data collected from our own critical reflections developed during informal discussion and from formal interviews with colleagues, together with literature on recent changes in academia, leads us to argue that neoliberal individualism, shaped by management tactics that constantly measure individual performance and output, is making academia an increasingly insecure place in which to work and study. The consequences of this insecurity include increasing mental health problems among both students and staff, intensifying competition at the expense of collegiality and collaboration and an overall decrease in the quality of academic jobs and teaching. Although the discipline of anthropology can help us better understand our own conditions, the personalisation of problems and the focus on success obscure the anthropological lens, which looks at social and cultural structures of power and depends on critical reflexivity.
Descriptors: Neoliberalism, Anthropology, Foreign Countries, Core Curriculum, Liberal Arts, Interviews, Mental Health, Mental Disorders, Individualism, Work Environment, Educational Environment, Competition, Collegiality, Educational Quality, Power Structure, Social Structure, Cultural Influences, Educational Change, College Faculty, Teacher Attitudes, Universities
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Netherlands
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A