Tactical evaluations: everyday neoliberalism in academia

Neoliberal political rationalities have transformed not only national policy agendas, but also the strategies that individuals adopt to navigate their everyday lives; sometimes described as ‘everyday neoliberalism’. This article explores everyday neoliberalism’s contribution to the transformation of workplace ethics through a case study of Australian academics. National higher education policy reforms have been mirrored by a transformation in academics’ perceptions of what forms of self-management are legitimate and necessary. While governmental reforms are couched in a language of technical efficiency and accountability to stakeholders, interviews with academics reveal depoliticising practices of evaluation. Values conflicts – between scholarly autonomy and managerial efficiency – are indicative of tactical struggles over the means by which academics evaluate their selves and their labour. The managerialisation of university governance has not eroded political and value commitments, but has encouraged academics to pursue more individualised forms of ethics, which re-affirm their compliance with managerial norms.