Addressing “Bullshit” work in neoliberal academia: Tales from an audit experience and a call to action

Abstract

The concept of bullshit jobs, defined as jobs perceived as pointless or pernicious, has gained limited attention within academia thus far. This study aims to fill this gap by utilizing the bullshit concept to ethnographically explore an audit experience in the context of the neoliberal university. We argue that the pervasive influence of the audit culture in higher education has detrimental subjective and intersubjective effects, which can be fruitfully examined through the bullshit lens. In the article, we present an autoethnographic account of our experience with the Italian “Periodic Accreditation of Universities” program, which involved an audit of our institution. Through our lived experiences and observations, we aim to shed light on the bullshit effects resulting from the methods and criteria used to evaluate the quality of higher education. In conclusion, in the article, we discuss how the bullshit discourse can foster academics’ resistance against these mechanisms and propose a call to action for sharing similar experiences to kickstart reflexive practices that could help push back against the neoliberal audit regime.