(Re)Politicizing The Anthropologist In The Age Of Neoliberalism And #Blacklivesmatter

Abstract

AbstractIn the larger context of overwhelming student loans and the decline of tenure, universities are now commonly dealing with racial protests. Beyond contributing service to what Sara Ahmed describes as the “non‐performativity” of diversity statements, scholars are expected to follow the precedent set by university administration, which is usually one of silence and denial punctuated by vociferous apology through targeted resignations post‐incident. Although race has long been a dominant research theme, anthropologists are rarely asked by administration to facilitate debate on the role of the academic setting in creating social and political change. This article explores the responses of universities coupled with the purposeful exclusion of anthropologists and other social scientists from administrative committees and policy decisions. Assuming Louis Althusser's theory of the ideological state apparatus, we examine the ways university bureaucracies have propagated neoliberal ideas and strategies for achieving racial equality and how the strategies utilized by the university are dictated by its funding needs. Specific examples draw from the experiences and observations of the authors—an assistant professor of anthropology and a community organizer–graduate student—juxtaposing the responses of two local university administrations to protests in Ferguson, as well as detailing nonproductive attempts of these campus communities to engage structural racism and the Ferguson community.