Symbolic Violence, Emotional Abuse, and Mental Illness in the Neoliberal University

• In Event: Moscone Center North Roundtable Session 7
  In Roundtable Session: Navigating Institutionalized Violence and Barriers

Abstract

Higher education scholars have described that neoliberal ideology, reflected in managerial values and entrepreneurial practices, has changed the academic profession in public research universities (PRUs). The purpose of this investigation is to explain to what extend neoliberal ideology has altered and damaged the symbolic world of faculty members, particularly their professional identities and emotions. Faculty members from a variety of academic disciplines and ranks characterized the sample. Findings suggest that neoliberal ideology has increased the symbolic violence and emotional abuse felt by faculty members across academic disciplines and ranks. Symbolic violence and emotional abuse are linked to a described ontological insecurity, existential emotions such as fear and anxiety, professional identity crisis, and mental illness experienced by faculty members.

Author

• Evelyn Vázquez, University of California - Riverside