Academic Conferences Equally Neoliberal Commodities (Book Review)

Donald J. Nicolson’s Academic Conferences equally Neoliberal Commodities is a brusk novel majority that addresses 1 of the favorite academic products researchers honey to hate.
Nicolson’s majority offers a fresh as well as concise overview over the topic based on his ain experiences primarily inward the acre of wellness scientific discipline as well as additional interviews amongst a sample of academics from unlike disciplines. His “exploratory examination” (p.8) is structured along a fictitious conference proceedings tabular array of content as well as inward many ways he does accept us on a journeying to explore gatherings of academics inward the neoliberal age.

He starts amongst a brusk historical exploration into conferences and, at to the lowest degree for me, amongst a reminder that at that topographic point actually was a fourth dimension when they fulfilled the expectation of “intellectual communication (and) to enable people to nowadays as well as verbalize over findings from research” (p.5).

Nicolson introduces his neoliberal framework early on, but for me it remains somewhat abstract throughout the book, but I reserve a to a greater extent than substantial critique for the 2d business office of my review. “I encounter the dangers of academics beingness exploited equally commodities as well as academia shifting from its intellectual traditions” (p.18), he writes, but to me at that topographic point is a peril of a circular argument: If higher instruction is or becomes commoditized, isn’t past times Definition whatsoever academic activeness as well as thence “neoliberal’? And why as well as thence waste materials all this fourth dimension as well as coin on inefficient conferences-shouldn’t the draw of piece of work director inquire y'all to write question proposals instead or attend a “student sense improvement workshop”?
Particularly afterwards the initiative off business office of the majority which consists of detailed illustration studies of conference attendance, I rest puzzled equally to why “neoliberalism” explains conferences-especially mega-conferences of diverse ‘studies associations’.

Nicolson offers 1 explanation at the rattling terminate of the initiative off business office of the book:

It mightiness hold upward said inward full general that conferences are places where buyers come upward to inspect a product, which mightiness hold upward knowledge, methodological skills or question inward progress. (…) Conferences mightiness no longer hold upward a house to brand a controversial or political statement, fifty-fifty past times chance, inward a neoliberal age, where corporate identity as well as the commodities derived from question are all of import (p.35).

Still, I am non exclusively satisfied…

What is a “neoliberal commodity”?
The 2d business office as well as one-half of the majority adds additional aspects to the conference attendance discourse, but I had wished that Nicolson would conduct keep gone a fight deeper into cardinal aspects. He points out of import aspects of the academic conference industry-but roughly of his observations seem a fight tame: “An attractive venue may hold upward an added incentive for care a conference” (p.42), he remarks, or reducing the locomote appear to carbon footprints as well as a burdensome border/visa authorities that emerged precisely equally the majority was cook for publication. The civility at conferences that 1 informant identifies equally a “keystone of academic discourse” (p.45) nigh seems to handgrip his ain writing dorsum at this point. And his rather positive accept on poster presentations as well as an overall positive notion of “academic socialization” may conduct keep to practice amongst unlike disciplinary perceptions of the value of these commodities. I never understood why networking cannot hold upward organized through a smaller workshop or only visiting nearby colleagues at work.

In his determination (“Closing keynote”) he misses of import opportunities to challenge the “neoliberal” framework fifty-fifty further: If “time as well as coin are barriers to people beingness able to locomote to as well as attend conferences” as well as thence why non nowadays to a greater extent than detailed data: How much fourth dimension as well as coin is spent on conference participation? If nosotros randomly assume every player of a 3000 mortal conference only spends 1 operate twenty-four threescore minutes menses on the conference, isn’t the loss of 3000 operate days a mind-boggling waste materials of (mostly public) money!?

“The deport upon is frequently at the personal level” (p.61) seems to me a piffling fight of cop-out.

In the terminate I fully handgrip amongst Nicolson that “the lack of question examining the deport upon of academic conferences” (p.64) is surprising as well as that ultimately the “book represents a initiative off of a conversation; that is, a possible novel focus for research” (p.66).

Ritualization, localization, mediatization-how to accept critical twenty-four threescore minutes menses of the month amongst academic conferences further 
Strictly speaking, my majority review ends here. But academic conferences conduct keep both been an appear of my question as well as my blogging as well as I desire to accept this chance to add together a few aspects from my ethnographic as well as media as well as communication background.

In my question on peacebuilding conferences, academic or policy-related, inward Nepal as well as Federal Republic of Federal Republic of Germany I am introducing research on surgical procedure studies as well as ritual economy.
I intend they add together nuances to a wide concept such equally “neoliberal”, taking the choreography of events much to a greater extent than into consideration as well as the rituals of how noesis is performed rather than only “sold”. The performative appear also links to the physical environment: the global chain hotels amongst their nondescript PowerPoint presentation rooms without daylight practice an uncreative environs to seemingly “think out of the box” of daily routines. With reference to Marc Augé, such “Technology is an appear that has popped upward on this spider web log to a greater extent than than once. The unwillingness of many associations to comprehend the digital historic menses as well as increase diversity is a substance employment of most conferences: They desire the income from player fees, they desire equally many people equally possible on site to practice mistaken exclusivity past times switching off the wireless network.
When pointing fingers at academy managers or question funders inward the neoliberal historic menses nosotros should non forget the role of associations that fuel unsustainable as well as uncreative gatherings.

If Donald Nicolson’s majority tin accomplish 1 thing, as well as thence hopefully to a greater extent than discussions on the role of academic conferences across disciplines, privileges as well as inequalities!

Nicolson, Donald J: Academic conferences equally Neoliberal Commodities. ISBN 978-3-319-49190-5, 78pp, GBP 29.99, London: Palgrave Macmillan, 2017.