Description
Book SynopsisCritical Administration: Negotiating Political Commitment and Managerial Practice in Contemporary Higher Education explores the challenges that higher education administrators face when negotiating political commitments in the day-to-day practice of university life. Jay Brower and W. Benjamin Myers have collected reflections from 12 administrators, all of whom identify as critical/cultural scholars, about how ideological commitments affect their identities as administrators and the work they conduct. Contributors reflect on how their academic training helps them understand their role as administrators in higher education in terms of central issues surrounding power, ethics, and identity, and how they entwine with managerial responsibilities. Each contributor focuses on specific experiences where their managerial duties intersect with political commitments. Ultimately, this collection provides opportunities to observe the challenges and opportunities of performing ethical leadership in
Trade ReviewCritical Administration in Higher Education: Negotiating Political Commitment and Managerial Practice is a must-have for any administrator who cares about diversity, inclusivity, and justice in the workplace. The authors who contribute to the volume go all in by sharing personal stories, offering candid advice, and connecting to the relevant scholarly literature. I know this book helped me to think about how I can be an ethical and just chair, and it will undoubtedly help many others. Jay Brower and W. Benjamin Myers are to be commended for this unique, thoughtful, and bold collection of essays! -- Jimmie Manning, Northern Illinois University
Table of ContentsChapter 1 – Selling Out or Cashing In: Common Fears of and Advice for Critical/Cultural Scholar Administrators Chapter 2 – Black Male Authority as Oxymoron: Implications for Black Academic Middle Managers in Higher Education Chapter 3 – Chair Communication as Ethical Performance: Embodiment, Interruption, and Translation Chapter 4 – Failing to Communicate in a Communication Department: A Former Chair Calls her Spirit Back Chapter 5 – Minding the Gap: The Performativity of Administrative Identities Chapter 6 – It’s Not Me, It’s You Chapter 7 – An Anxious Administrator: Critical Administrative Practice and Public Failure Chapter 8 – Diversity and Cultural Leadership Chapter 9 – Who’s Responsible for Salving the Wounds? On Ethics, Leadership, and Conflict in an Academic Department Chapter 10 – The Liminal Leader: Narrative Conscience and Critical Hermeneutic Leadership in the Neoliberal Academy Chapter 11 – Drawing the Boundary Between Faculty and Administration Through Concertive Control: Coming out of the Dark into the Light Chapter 12 – Feeling Compromised: Notes on Chairing
