Abstract
This paper argues for a novel view of the entrepreneurial and asks, can faculty and universities play a role in reshaping neoliberalism? In the last ten years there has been a significant literature talking about the impact of neoliberalism and its accountability regime on faculty and universities. This neoliberal regime is about recreating the university as a site of knowledge production for global capitalist expansion. Superseding philosophy, it elevates a particular view of the economic to be the purpose of the university. Further, that discourse often talks about creating entrepreneurial scholars and universities, with a particular neoliberal definition of entrepreneurial. Our alternative definition of entrepreneurship suggests entrepreneurship is a process whereby individuals bring about a much wider range of values than simply the economic. This alternative view of entrepreneurship is already operating in the world through social entrepreneurial projects, the craft economy, and democratic community projects. Following in the Humboldtian tradition, this paper argues that the university could be the site of an alternative entrepreneurial spirit broadening the range of values that are embraced and help bring about a world that is affluent and beneficial for a larger segment of society.
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Shumar, W., Robinson, S. (2018). Universities as Societal Drivers: Entrepreneurial Interventions for a Better Future. In: Bengtsen, S., Barnett, R. (eds) The Thinking University. Debating Higher Education: Philosophical Perspectives, vol 1. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-77667-5_3
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