Rudy Acuña

[Interviewer] You wrote: “In order to offset the lack of public funding, administrators have raised tuition with students becoming the primary consumers and debt-holders. Institutions have entered into research partnerships with industry shifting the pursuit of truth to the pursuit of profits.” To accelerate this “molting,” they have “hired a larger and larger number of short-term, part-time … More Rudy Acuña

Consumer or citizen

We were no longer citizens, but taxpayers, and now we have been further reduced to consumers, exercising our democratic rights through this megaphone. The consumer is sold things, not necessarily the things they want, and the things are nonetheless needed, and very expensive. Consumers can express their displeasure and be treated with unvarying politeness, but … More Consumer or citizen

The common good

We don’t know, of course, if anyone believes in the common good, or the public good any more, but here are some fragmentary notes from a conversation we had. 1. We should talk much more about research. In class. College has to become more interesting – we cannot allow it to be further redefined as … More The common good

Des feuilles

I am still going through my files and it is shocking – so many quite good and almost finished papers I set aside, or that got swept aside in one storm or another. I have the Racial Order book, which is focused on the U.S. It talks about field theory (Bourdieu). Can race be a … More Des feuilles

The neoliberalization

Who said it? Market incentives lower the value of college to both individuals and the public. Defunding chips away at both the public good and the private benefits to students. Faculty should unite on the concept of public good, and senior administrators should articulate it. Privatization has a price (and is not an improvement). Axé.