The Lives of Campus Custodians: Insights Into Corporatization and Civic Disengagement in the Academy By Peter M. Magolda
The Lives of Campus Custodians: Insights Into Corporatization and Civic Disengagement in the Academy By Peter M. Magolda ebook 1620364611 9781620364611 The Lives of Campus Custodians: Insights Into Corporatization and Civic Disengagement in the Academy This unique study uncovers the lives and working conditions of a group of individuals who are usually rendered invisible on college campuses the custodians who daily clean the offices, residence halls, bathrooms and public spaces. In doing so it also reveals universities equally invisible practices that frequently contradict their espoused values of inclusion and equity, and their profession that those on the margins are important members of the campus community. This vivid ethnography is the fruit of the years fieldwork that Peter Magoldas undertook at two universities. His purpose was to shine a light on a subculture that neither decision makers nor campus community members know very much about, let alone understand the motivations and aspirations of those who perform this work; and to pose fundamental questions about the moral implications of the corporatization of higher education and its impact on its lowest paid and most vulnerable employees. Working alongside and learning about the lives of over thirty janitorial staff, Peter Magolda becomes privy to acts of courage, resilience, and inspiration, as well as witness to their work ethic, and to instances of intolerance, inequity, and injustices. We learn the stories of remarkable people, and about their daily concerns, their fears and contributions. Peter Magolda raises such questions as: Does the academy still believe wisdom is exclusive to particular professions or classes of people? Are universities really inclusive? Is addressing service workers concerns part of the mission of higher education? If universities profess to value education, why make it difficult for those on the margins, such as custodians, to get educated. The book concludes with the research participants and the authors reflections about ways that colleges can improve the lives of those whose underpaid and unremarked labor is so essential to the smooth running of their campuses. Appendices provide information about the research methodology and methods, as well as a discussion of the influence of corporate managerialism on ethnographic research.
The lives of campus custodiansmen
Excellent ethnography about a too often ignored and overlooked population Dr Magolda s approach to research and sharing the insights and stories of others is inspiring and thought provoking ebook Discovered this book after learning of Dr Peter Magolda s recent passing This was a well written and carefully researched ethnographic anthropological text and shed light on likely one of the least researched campus subcultures campus custodians Dr Magolda clearly writes to bring attention and empathy to this underserved under documented under appreciated community An overall educational and enjoyable read though the minutia of the discussion about the corporatization of the academy was dense Bias was apparent throughout but was explained as part of the text While I have not lived in a student s shoes please don t try to put yourself in housekeeper s shoes It is not an easy job This advice from a custodian to a disrespectful student is ironic as Dr Magolda spends his entire research helping us do exactly this put ourselves in their shoes ebook An important read for all of those inside of academia and outside as well I always say hi to the custodians at the school where I work and have seen mostly the same faces for the 7 years I ve been employed there but I never stopped and researched the conditions of their employment I ve assumed they re college employees but never really looked deeper This book helped me realize that I m near the top of a hierarchy and that I m responsible for understanding the conditions of the people lower than me in the hierarchy and advocating for them as needed. Book the lives of campus custodians pdf Appreciated in this book was the statement that administrators are always trying to constrain costs except when it comes to hiring administrators The list of all of the associate assistant and vice provosts made me laugh out loud and also sigh because it is so true at my school Our admin will go out of their way to discuss how expensive it is to hire full time faculty but then not hesitate to hire another associate vice provost who makes probably 200000 year in salary The issues of shared governance turning into being beholden to boards of trustees also terribly and unfortunately true. Pdf the lives of campus custodians summary The neoliberal model of academia is broken and it doesn t only harm students It harms custodians groundskeepers facilities and maintenance crews as well These are the folks behind the scenes keeping everything running smoothly and cleanly while the rest of us go about our jobs politely ignoring them ebook A deeply necessary read for anyone who works in higher education ebook
This unique study uncovers the lives and working conditions of a group of individuals who are usually rendered invisible on college campuses the custodians who daily clean the offices residence halls bathrooms and public spaces In doing so it also reveals universities equally invisible practices that frequently contradict their espoused values of inclusion and equity and their profession that those on the margins are important members of the campus community This vivid ethnography is the fruit of the year s fieldwork that Peter Magolda s undertook at two universities His purpose was to shine a light on a subculture that neither decision makers nor campus community members know very much about let alone understand the motivations and aspirations of those who perform this work and to pose fundamental questions about the moral implications of the corporatization of higher education and its impact on its lowest paid and most vulnerable employees Working alongside and learning about the lives of over thirty janitorial staff Peter Magolda becomes privy to acts of courage resilience and inspiration as well as witness to their work ethic and to instances of intolerance inequity and injustices We learn the stories of remarkable people and about their daily concerns their fears and contributions Peter Magolda raises such questions as Does the academy still believe wisdom is exclusive to particular professions or classes of people Are universities really inclusive Is addressing service workers concerns part of the mission of higher education If universities profess to value education why make it difficult for those on the margins such as custodians to get educated The book concludes with the research participants and the author s reflections about ways that colleges can improve the lives of those whose underpaid and unremarked labor is so essential to the smooth running of their campuses Appendices provide information about the research methodology and methods as well as a discussion of the influence of corporate managerialism on ethnographic research The Lives of Campus Custodians Insights Into Corporatization and Civic Disengagement in the Academy
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