The Neoliberal Assault on Academia

by Tarak Barkawi
April 25, 2013

The New York Times, Slate and Al Jazeera have recently drawn attention to the adjunctification of the professoriate in the US. Only 24 per cent [3] of university and college faculty are now tenured or tenure-track.

Much of the coverage has focused on the sub-poverty wages [4] of adjunct faculty, their lack of job security and the growing legions [5] of unemployed and under-employed PhDs. Elsewhere, the focus has been on web-based learning and the massive open online courses (MOOCs [6]), with some commentators celebrating and others lamenting their arrival.

The two developments are not unrelated. Harvard recently asked its alumni to volunteer their time as "online mentors" and "discussion group managers" for an online course. Fewer professors and fewer qualified - or even paid - teaching assistants will be required in higher education's New Order.