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Welcome to Themes and Contestations in Contemporary Academic Inquiry (English 5454, 97467; STS 5424, 97981) for fall 2011 at Virginia Tech.

Abridged Course Description

We will investigate the promise and peril of conducting academic inquiry in a time where neoliberal values regarding assessment, branding, consumer choice, efficiency, and productivity are ascendant in the university. Books about the university invoke the rhetoric of crisis through titles that employ such phrases as "academically adrift", "wasting our money", "limited learning", "bold plan", and "not for profit". What kind of academic work can, or ought, we do under these conditions?