This book considers the detrimental changes that have occurred to the
institution of the university, as a result of the withdrawal of state
funding and the imposition of neoliberal market reforms on higher
education. It argues that universities have lost their way, and are
currently drowning in an impenetrable mush of economic babble, spurious
spin-offs of zombie economics, management-speak and
militaristic-corporate jargon. John Smyth provides a trenchant and
excoriating analysis of how universities have enveloped themselves in
synthetic and meaningless marketing hype, and explains what this has
done to academic work and the culture of universities - specifically,
how it has degraded higher education and exacerbated social inequalities
among both staff and students. Finally, the book explores how we might
commence a reclamation. It should be essential reading for students and
researchers in the fields of education and sociology, and anyone
interested in the current state of university management.