Neo-liberal politics and The British State: the case of the universities

Critics of neoliberalism argue that it entails a cutting back of the state sector, the undermining of welfare provision, and the reign of the market. This proposal takes the British state, and in particular higher education, as an exemplar of these arguments. It proposes a close study of the actual policies and practices of the state during the economic crisis, seeking to rethink theoretical claims, against the actual politics. This proposal builds on the work initiated in CAPPE on neoliberal policies in relation to health and education. Supervisory experience includes Professor Bob Brecher and Dr Mark Devenney both of whom have written about education and/or neoliberalism (see for example B. Brecher, ‘Complicity and modularisation: how universities were made safe for the market’, Critical Quarterly 2005, vol. 476, no.1-2, pp. 77-82). We invite applications from candidates in applied philosophy, with particular knowledge of debates about philosophy of education, and of developments in higher education in the UK and with evidenced interests in critical studies, broadly conceived.

Applicants with a good knowledge of radical theoretical work would be particularly welcome, and the successful candidate is expected to participate in the activities of CAPPE, and to join the Critical Studies Research group in the School of Humanities.

Application deadline

The university cannot guarantee that students can start at their requested date unless deadlines are met.

•UK/EU students: The deadline for the university to receive applications for an entry date of October is the 1 August, for January entry it is the 1 November and for May it is the 1 March.

•International students: The deadline for the university to receive applications for an entry date of October is the 1 June, for January entry it is the 1 September and for May it is the 1 January.