Cracking foundations, contested futures: Post-secondary education in Alberta at the end of the holocene

Abstract

This article introduces the special issue of REPCS dedicated to the analysis of the restructuring of higher education in Alberta, Canada. It describes the acceleration of the processes of commodification of education and research and the corporatization of institutional governance under the government that took office in April 2019. The Alberta case is situated within the political economy of this petro-state, governed by a right-wing populist party, as well as in relation to the global trends in post-secondary education driven by neoliberal regimes. Further, the article highlights the cracks in the foundations of modern universities that have deeper historical origins than neoliberalism, and that are widening as the governance and raison d‘être of these institutions are challenged by global socio-ecological crises and Indigenous-led decolonization and climate justice movements. Drawing upon first-hand knowledge, as a participant in the struggles at the University of Alberta, as well as extensive research into the government’s restructuring agenda and the impacts on the post-secondary sector, the author outlines proposals for reform of the legislative framework governing the relationship between universities and the state, as well as the internal governance of the institution, and assesses the current terrain of agency for such transformation.