ERIC Number: EJ1286162
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2021
Pages: 13
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0309-877X
EISSN: N/A
The Neoliberal University and the Neurotic Academic: A Textual Analysis of ITV Drama "Cheat"
Journal of Further and Higher Education, v45 n2 p257-269 2021
Through a textual analysis of four episodes comprising the ITV 1 psychological thriller "Cheat," this paper explores depictions of the English Higher Education [HE] landscape and of the lived experiences of being an academic in the television drama. We achieve this through a focus on the fictional HE institution where the drama is set -- St. Helen's College -- and the central character, university Lecturer: Dr Leah Dale; who is employed on a fixed-term contract and is applying for tenure. This paper engages with the following themes: Emotional Labour; Precarity of Fixed-Term Contracts; and Imposter Syndrome. Insight gleaned through the textual analysis contributes to the understanding of how academics might be navigating and negotiating the neoliberal university. In particular, we highlight the implications of contractual precarity in HE and the fragility of identity which is experienced by some academics. As such, this paper goes some way towards remedying the deficit of scholarship on the lived experiences of being a contemporary academic.
Descriptors: Neoliberalism, Higher Education, Television, Programming (Broadcast), College Faculty, Tenure, Academic Rank (Professional), Teacher Attitudes, Psychological Patterns, Universities, Professional Identity, Self Concept, Work Environment, Contracts, Educational Change, Foreign Countries, Family Work Relationship, Mental Health, Undergraduate Students, Cheating, Teacher Student Relationship
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Evaluative
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: United Kingdom (England)
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A