Dark Academia: How Universities Die

The title of the book is a clever play on a current Internet and Tik Tok trend, which is also considered a somewhat bleak and dissonant (but attractive) “life-aesthetic” labeled, “Dark Academia” (traceable to and popularized by the novel Secret History by Donna Tarrt). So, potential readers must not be misled by the Fleming’s use of the phrase “Dark Academia” in the title of his book. I never heard of Prof. Peter Fleming before reading this book. I can now say with confidence that he is a superb and highly engaging author and scholar! He is a keen observer, a careful researcher, and a superb analyst – unfortunately, his conclusions (he’s also a prescient if not prophetic seer of sorts) regarding the future of our current university system(s) are decidedly bleak and even pessimistic – but not to the point of a fatalism…for there is a brief prescriptive offered here, albeit tempered. The book focuses on – in succinct terms – the “dark” and deleterious influence that social efficiency (Taylorism), instrumentalism, vocationalism, and corporatism – spawns of neoliberalism’s insidious expansion of the free market – have on both contemporary university systems (US, UK, Australia, New Zealand) and the psychic-emotional-intellectual health of pedagogues and their students. And, as he concludes, the results are downright depressive. This book is not about statistics per se, rather it focuses on the human or “inhumane” toll that living, teaching, and learning in an educational system that has graduated from a “factory” model to a “corporate” model, operating in terms of a business model grounded in efficiency and economic advancement – at the exclusion of learning – has taken on all those involved. Each chapter reads as a “self-contained” essay, organized around the general theme I mentioned above. This is probably not surprising, since the author informs readers that the complete book was developed from the publication of one of the chapters. Topics: A specific introduction to the phenomenon of “dark academia” is given and nested within the milieu of late capitalism, through the expression of the “edu-factory,” which include “education/industry partnerships with arms manufacturers and fracking firms, among othered”; the turn toward authoritarianism in educations’ corporate design and structure; the death of the traditional or free academic; the exploration of what efficacy and “impact” mean in the corporatization of higher education; the analysis of “student hellscapes,” within which students are stressed to the point of suicide, under the insurmountable weight of financial burdens inextricably tied to securing an education; and one of my favorite chapters, the folly of the “academic star-complex” (here, one cannot help but think of the cult of Derrida). The book concludes with speculation concerning a potential way out of the dire situation – a diagnosis accompanied by a highly tempered prescriptive. I’ll leave it to readers to draw their own conclusions and assess the effectiveness or plausibility of Fleming’s suggestions, all this considering the moribund conditions that he so vividly describes and brings to life for readers. “The darkness evolves over time. It begins with outrage, transitions to frustration and finally settles as a deep-seated dismay. But seldom is it expressed as open rebellion (collective or otherwise).” Fleming is certainly not the typical (oldish) plodding academic; he’s of a newer and younger breed. He writes in a fast and agitated, but highly readable, style. Be warned, however, he has the tendency to construct short and dramatic sentences that require, for readers not steeped in the ongoing and agonistic debates about these issues, a bit more unpacking and elaboration. This is an excellent and alarmingly disturbing book. It is one of the best I have read on the topic and stands with the likes of Mark Slouka and Martha Nussbaum, both of whom write on this continuing crisis (this opinion coming from an oldish, plodding academic!). To concretize a personal observation related to Fleming’s book: According to the business or corporate model – the “edu-factory” – “Homo Academicus is now one of the most measured and audited characters in modern society.” Casuals and adjuncts (“ghost employees”) are now closely monitored and scrutinized, evaluated for their so-called pedagogical efficacy. However, they are not assessed by master-teachers or administrative staff members, but instead by young, inexperienced auxiliaries reporting to the higher-ups, all in service of the economic and instrumental ends of the university – professors must best serve at once the products and consumers of education: the students – with the bottom line of producing “earners’ and “return customers.” These evaluators are typically early post-graduates without doctorates, possessing little to no teaching experience, but they are steeped in typical “methods” courses that comprise the common curricula of most education degrees. It is shameful, and beyond, harmful, that such evaluations hold the potential to determine the fate of professors who might have successfully taught for upwards of 20-years. These reports are submitted to department heads (as the auxiliaries serve the management regime) who often don’t even know the name of the professor under evaluation and are thus oblivious to the good work he or she might have done for many years in the classroom. Dr. James M. Magrini Former: Philosophy/College of Dupage NCIS See also my: “Beyond Profit: The Value of the Humanities” Academia.edu

Arrived brand new. Highly recommended!

The book promises a lot and some good points are made but it is mostly based on slogans and the argument is not well built. Many matters are simplified and only the perspective of big paid universities is taken.

Excellent Book. It very clearly describes how Higher Education Institutes have gotten to the current state of low morale, constant upheaval and general unhappiness. For anyone involved in higher education, this is very informative and helpful in working with the powers-to-be.

Excelente livro sobre um tema particularmente difícil. Importante para entender para onde caminha a sociedade moderna do jeito que ele está estruturada. A situação é bastante complexa e pode comprometer o funcionamento das universidades tal como eram vistas até uns poucos anos atrás. O futuro dessas instituições é incerto, como é hoje o futuro das relações de trabalho - foco do livro - e das questões ambientais que afetam as vidas de todos nós.

Gran libro, como profesor presenta una muy buena critica al sistema que rige a las universidades.

It is very rare indeed that I find myself in such agreement with an author. Fleming's analysis of what has gone so badly wrong in contemporary Higher Education hits the nail squarely on the head.

This is a harrowing read, detailing the ways that universities have been impacted by economic aims and neoliberal ideas.

An excellent read, with sharp analysis, even if it isn’t particularly uplifting. I especially enjoyed the chapter on the „academic star-complex“.