Pre-Conference Workshop by Luca P. Vecchio¹, Matteo Antonini², Chiara Corvino², Laura Galuppo², Mara Gorli²
¹ University of Milano-Bicocca, Italy ² Catholic University of the Sacred Hearth, Italy
TIME: Monday, 13 July, 14:30 – 17:30
Location: Room 2
Session: Pre-Conference Workshop 2
Abstract
The title of this pre-workshop is intentionally provocative and may appear overly simplistic. Nevertheless, it reflects a widespread and growing sense of malaise increasingly articulated by academic workers – particularly early-career researchers – when recounting their experiences within contemporary universities. Pervasive uncertainty about the future, employment precariousness, intensified competition, escalating pressures to produce ever more outputs at an ever-faster pace under the logic of publish or perish, and the erosion of professional autonomy are key features of the neoliberal academy. These conditions are closely linked to the deterioration of workers’ well-being and mental health, manifested in rising levels of anxiety, depression, and negative emotional states. How have such values and working conditions come to be normalized and institutionalized within academic organizations? More importantly, how might it be possible to intervene in order to transform these pathological workplaces and to foster health, rather than distress, within the university? This full day pre-conference workshop proposes a non-conventional approach to these questions, starting from the lived experiences of participants themselves. Rather than imposing predefined themes, the workshop invites participants to collectively bring into focus the main issues, tensions, and contradictions they experience in their everyday academic lives within what is often perceived as a “sick” university. Building on this shared exploration, the workshop will then move toward a critical reflection on possible avenues for action and change through the method of process consultation (Schein, 2000). Process consultation is typically applied in organizations by external consultants to support improvement and change. During the workshop, it will be used to analyze the internal problems of the Neoliberal University. The focus is on understanding internal dynamics and processes rather than providing predefined solutions. Particular attention will be paid to collective—rather than exclusively individual—forms of response, resistance, and transformation. Overall, the workshop seeks to create a shared space to introduce process consultation as a possible method for critically addressing the conditions of work in the neoliberal academy and for promoting organizational change.