You can’t open your newsfeed of choice without bumping into the term “neoliberalism.” You hear that it’s a problem, but why? Culminating scholarship from the past 40 years on the topic, as well as my own academic research in both social work and higher education, this lecture discusses the relationship between public services (e.g., education and social work) and neoliberalism (sometimes called “the financialization of everything”).

We will examine the ubiquity of neoliberalism in everything from breakfast cereal boxes to flyers on the backs of bathroom stalls, as well as how it distorts practice in education and social work. Ultimately, we’ll discuss the extent to which neoliberal practices and policies create caste systems, often divided on racial lines, and contribute to the burn out of expendable faculty and staff.