The Antioch Debacle: A Corporatist Misadventure in Higher Education

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.

Name thesis:degree_name

MA

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Media Studies

Year dc:date.issued

2009

Author dc:creator

• Cornell, Kerstin

Advisors dc:contributor.advisor

• Torres, Sasha
• Hearn, Alison

• Antioch College
• Antioch University
• higher education
• corporatization of higher education
• U.S. culture
• university
• capitalism

Handle dc:identifier.uri

https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14721/19126

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:uwo.scholaris.ca:20.500.14721/19126