Refiguring Universities in an Age of Neoliberalism

Louise J. Lawrence is Professor of New Testament Interpretation at the University of Exeter, UK. She currently serves as Co-Head of Department, but has been involved in Education Leadership at Exeter, with a particular interest in curricula design focused on Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion, and Student Mental Health and Wellbeing.

• Chapter 1: Introduction.- Chapter 2: A Prolegomenon to Refiguring the Neoliberal University: Reading with Early Christian Traditions of Compassion in the Throes of a Pandemic.- Chapter 3: Envisioning Compassionate Campuses: Critically Probing Organisational Values and Mission Statements.- Chapter 4: Compassionate Curricula? Northern and Southern Epistemologies and Cognitive [In-] Justice.- Chapter 5: Compassionate Campus Climates: Confronting Privilege and Prejudice with Compassionate Citizenship.- Chapter 6: Compassion and Kindness: Refiguring Discourses of Student Mental Health and Wellbeing.- Chapter 7: [Mis-]Directed Compassion? Power, Sexual Violence and Misconduct, in the Neoliberal Academy.- Chapter 8: Conclusion.

“This is an excellent snapshot of the current state of UK universities and a praiseworthy addition to the existing literature on compassion and the university. It is a fascinating example of how compassion can be outlined using the university educator’s own areas of expertise, which may potentially encourage similar contributions in the future. Furthermore, Lawrence refrains from decontextualising … aspects of higher education that portray suffering in the sector, making it a bravely written monograph.” (Aysha Mazhar, British Journal of Educational Studies, September 10, 2021)