Whackademia: An insider's account of the troubled university

Description

Australian universities are not happy places. Despite the shiny rhetoric of excellence, quality, innovation and creativity, universities face a barrage of criticism over claims of declining standards, decreased funding, compromised assessment, increased vocationalism, overburdened academics and never-ending reviews and restructures. In a scathing insider expose, Dr. Richard Hil lifts the lid on a higher education system that's corporatised beyond recognition, steeped in bureaucracy and dominated by marketing and PR imperatives rather than intellectual pursuit. Fearless, ferocious and often funny, Whackademia exposes a world that stands in stark contrast to the slogans and mottos joyously promoted by our universities. Raising bold questions that go to the heart of Australian higher education, Whackademia is an unsentimental call for a re-enlightened higher education sector that's not only about revenue, efficiencies and corporate profile.

Richard Hil is an honorary associate at the Center for Peace and Conflict Studies at the University of Sydney, the coauthor of "Erasing Iraq: The Human Costs of Carnage," and the coeditor of "Surviving Care: Achieving Justice and Healing for the Forgotten Australians." His articles have been published in the "Australian," "Australian Universities Review," and "Campus Review."