Higher education after neoliberalism: Student activism as a guiding light

Abstract

Contemporary college student activism has been particularly visible and effective in the past few years at US institutions of higher education and is projected only to grow in future years. Almost all of these protests and demands, while explicitly linked to social and racial justice, are sites of resistance to the neoliberalization of the academy. These activists are imagining a post-neoliberal society, and are building their demands around these potential new social imaginaries. Based on a discourse analysis of contemporary college student activist demands, to examine more closely the ways that student activists understand, resist, critique, and offer new alternatives to current (neoliberal) structures in higher education, it is suggested that student activists might be one key to understanding what’s next for higher education in a post-neoliberal context. The activists’ critiques of the structure of higher education reveal a sophisticated understanding of the current socio-political, cultural, and economic realities. Their demands show an optimistic, creative imagination that could serve educators well as we grapple with our first steps down a new road. Using their critiques and demands as a jumping-off point, this paper offers the blueprint for a new social imaginary in higher education, one that is focused on community and justice.