Date of Award
2009
Degree Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Arts
Program
Media Studies
Supervisor
Sasha Torres
Second Advisor
Alison Hearn
Abstract
In June of 2007 the Antioch University Board of Trustees announced a unilateral decision to close Antioch College, a school with a 150-year legacy of cultural and educational innovation. This thesis seeks to situate this closure within the framework of current trends in higher education, and to illustrate how a radical institution fell prey to the logic of late capitalism. Through a close reading of texts produced by Antioch University, Antioch College, and U.S. media, I examine differing interpretations regarding the purpose, function, and role of institutions of higher education. Ultimately, I contend that the struggle to save the College represents the dual conflict of purpose and process in higher education, and suggest that considering its legacy the closure of the College is a particularly alarming example of the current trends in higher education.
Recommended Citation
Cornell, Kerstin, "The Antioch Debacle: A Corporatist Misadventure in Higher Education" (2009). Digitized Theses. 4011.
https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/digitizedtheses/4011