Beyond the multiversity: neoliberalism and the rise of the schizophrenic university

Abstract

The restructuring of New Zealand's universities is often considered a paradigmatic case of neo-liberal reform and governance. While tertiary education is increasingly central to government's ideas about the future global knowledge economy, a new set of discourses has emerged around universities and their role that draws together different, often contradictory, agendas. This heralds not the death of the liberal idea of the university but a shift towards a new, multi-layered conception in which universities are expected to fulfil a plethora of different functions. This article examines the implications of this emerging ‘schizophrenic university’ paradigm and its effects on academic subjectivities.