In the first episode of Just as it Sounds, we discuss what the neoliberal university is with Dr. Evelyn Morales Vasquez. Evelyn is a post-doc at the University of California, Riverside and her research focuses on the psychological and emotional impacts of neoliberalism in higher education settings. During this one-time experience of conversing with an expert on the impacts of “neoliberalism”, we didn’t want to miss the opportunity of gossiping about the mystery of neoliberalism. Evelyn did a tremendous job describing what neoliberalism is and how it has reshaped the features of higher education. As she walked us through what neoliberalism does to faculty and graduate students, we were able to breathe in and breathe out and be reminded that our conflicted emotional universe as graduate students is a product of the neoliberal university.

During our conversation with Evelyn, Busra and I felt more at ease because Evelyn provided us with some tools to better understand the source of our feelings of insecurity and fear, and helped remind us that we are not alone. We hope that this first episode will be a contribution in generating an alternative interpretation for the crisis in higher education.  We also hope that as you listen to this podcast, you will take a moment to remember that you are not alone and the challenges you have been facing in academia are real.

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