The universities of Manchester and Helsinki: Different paths

  • Sarah Green University of Helsinki, Finland

Abstract

Comparing the experience of neoliberal reform at the Universities of Manchester and Helsinki shows that not all forms of neoliberalization are the same, despite the similarities in structural changes. In this case, the key difference has to do with the the social value attached to the content of scholarship, and to what universities do. In Manchester, the reforms were in the name of trying to achieve excellence, full stop; in Helsinki, the reforms were in the name of trying to achieve excellence for a reason: to better serve scholarship and the social good. This difference suggests that there is nothing inevitable about neoliberal reform: the outcome is contingent, and that generates hope.

How to Cite
Green, S. (1) “The universities of Manchester and Helsinki: Different paths”, Anuac, 5(1), pp. 55-58. doi: 10.7340/anuac2239-625X-2454.
Section
Forum: Anthropologists in/of the Neoliberal Academy