Dr Richard Berlach

Senior Lecturer, School of Education, Edith Cowan University, Western Australia

University Corporatisation: The Assault of Rationalism on the Human Spirit

Abstract

The world-wide obsession with rationalistically-based decision-making processes has resulted in individuals and societies alike suffering at the hands of bureaucrats and their masters, federal and state politicians. Institutions, industries, and even governments are now being seen as organisations to be managed by cold reason with little or no account being taken of the human spirit or of the attitudes and values of individuals. It appears that human worth and dignity have been replaced by rationalistically-motivated expediency cloaked in jargon divined by corporate management. Sadly, this form of rationality has found its way into Australian universities and is detrimentally affecting the mission of, and academic culture within, these institutions of higher learning. Such reshaping has resulted in most publicly-funded universities now evolving as businesses rather than autonomous centres of learning, research and scholarship. This work explores the antecedents of rationalism, challenges the value of this prevailing ideological position, and presents an alternative paradigm for maintaining the mission and culture of the university.

Presentation Type
30 min. Paper

Presentation Equipment Requirements
OHP

Speaking Date/Time Restrictions

Country
Australia