Skip to main content

The University as an Instrument of ‘Class’

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
The Toxic University

Part of the book series: Palgrave Critical University Studies ((PCU))

Abstract

The argument of this chapter is that universities are ‘classed’ institutions in terms of who they select to attend, but there is another sense too in which the way they are structured produces a different set of class relations—ones that besmirch the notion of dignity. The performative neoliberal apparatuses of measuring, calibrating, ranking, rating, comparing, and auditing are gross forms of institutional humiliation and exclusion. What is being appropriated in the neoliberal university is the ownership of academic work by ‘others’ who lay claim to its outputs and products, who are diverting it and using it for their own perverse purposes—enhancing brand, competitive position, or hierarchical status.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Institutional subscriptions

References

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to John Smyth .

Copyright information

© 2017 The Author(s)

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Smyth, J. (2017). The University as an Instrument of ‘Class’. In: The Toxic University. Palgrave Critical University Studies. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-54968-6_6

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-54968-6_6

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-137-54976-1

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-137-54968-6

  • eBook Packages: EducationEducation (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics