Filip Vostal is a Postdoctoral Researcher at the Centre for Science, Technology, and Society Studies at the Institute of Philosophy of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Czech Republic.
"This is an impressive debut, achieving both depth and breadth in the sociological understanding of today's fast academia. Theoretically, Vostal engages productively with the leading commentators on social acceleration, whilst also offering a strong empirical dimension. Throughout, the author provides astute assessments of what is new and what is not, what is bad and what might not be so bad after all, in the speeding-up of university life. The closing analysis of the nature and future of sociology itself in this context is insightful and thought-provoking." - Gregor McLennan, University of Bristol, UK
"Speed thrills, speed kills... Probing into the Janus-face of the all-encompassing acceleration of society, Filip Vostal especially targets the temporal colonization of the academic lifeworld, where the neoliberal economic mindset has enforced intensified workloads and a culture of cold competition. Instead of engaging in a one-dimensional praise of slowness, however, he highlights the ambivalence of the experience of speed within academia, which also thrives on fast communication, brainstorming and digitalization. Vostal's emphasis on the dialectic of speed and his balanced critique of the Slow Movement hence offer original and important contributions to the accelerating sociological study of time." - Dick Pels, University of Amsterdam, the Netherlands
"Academia is no ivory tower from which observations about society are made, it is the engine room of the neo-liberal knowledge economy. As such, as Filip Vostal acutely argues in this important book, it is both subject to the processes of that economy – commodification, speed-up, etc – and contributes to their legitimation. Acceleration, while intrinsic to the neo-liberal university, undermines capacities for organised reflection and, therefore, one of the very purposes that defined the university in the past. This is a book that need to be read ... while there is still time!" - John Holmwood, University of Nottingham, UK
"This book offers a brilliant analysis of the ambiguities of social acceleration in the current managerial university. It explores insightfully academics' subjective experiences of growing speed, business and time-pressure in their work, combines these experiences with the political economy of capitalism, and shows how the dominant discourses on competitiveness and excellence and audit technologies increase acceleration in academic work. You may be unable to escape the pains of acceleration, but after reading this book, you certainly understand why this is so, and even that being and working fast may sometimes be a plain pleasure." - Oili-Helena Ylijoki, University of Tampere, Finland
Filip Vostal examines the changing nature of academic time, and analyzes the 'will to accelerate' that has emerged as a significant cultural and structural force in knowledge production.
|The era of a 'slow-paced' academia characterized by leisurely tempos of research and pedagogy has gone. Academia is now an intensely social site, and the boundaries between capitalist dynamics and academic life have become blurred. Academic workloads are increasing as academics have to deal with an ever-growing number of tasks, information, obligations, texts, procedures and connections. Yet the time available for carrying out these activities remains relatively constant, and even seems to be decreasing. Simultaneously, the 'will to accelerate' has emerged as a significant cultural and structural force in knowledge production, propelled by competitiveness and the drive for excellence. Filip Vostal examines the changing character of academic time, and questions the nature of this acceleration. Without challenging its negative implications, Vostal argues that we cannot fully understand this phenomenon unless we scrutinize its positive dimensions, and ask why people opt for acceleration, and how and why the compulsion to accelerate features in higher education policy discourse.
Introduction. The Pulse of Modern Academia
1. Thematizing Acceleration
2. Continuity and Change in the Temporal Dynamics of Capitalism
3. Vehicularity: The Idea of the Knowledge Economy
4. Performativity: Competitiveness and Excellence
5. Acceleration in the Academic Life-World
6. Fast Sites: Igniting and Catapulting Knowledge
7. Sociology, Fast and Slow
Conclusion. For a Temporal Autonomy of Academia
The era of a 'slow-paced' academia characterized by leisurely tempos of research and pedagogy has gone. Academia is now an intensely social site, and the boundaries between capitalist dynamics and academic life have become blurred. Academic workloads are increasing as academics have to deal with an ever-growing number of tasks, information, obligations, texts, procedures and connections. Yet the time available for carrying out these activities remains relatively constant, and even seems to be decreasing. Simultaneously, the 'will to accelerate' has emerged as a significant cultural and structural force in knowledge production, propelled by competitiveness and the drive for excellence. Filip Vostal examines the changing character of academic time, and questions the nature of this acceleration. Without challenging its negative implications, Vostal argues that we cannot fully understand this phenomenon unless we scrutinize its positive dimensions, and ask why people opt for acceleration, and how and why the compulsion to accelerate features in higher education policy discourse.
"The present-day university has become a hot topic in several sociology, anthropology and philosophy subfields. Filip Vostal´s debut monograph on the institutional transformations and subjective experiences of (social) scientists at universities is a welcome addition to the burgeoning interdisciplinary area of critical studies of science, higher education and academia.” (Milena Kremakova, International Studies in the Philosophy of Science, Vol. 31 (2), March, 2018)
"I recommend Vostal´s book highly. He gives us considered, inquiring reflections across a broad literature on neoliberalism and speed at universities, and is critical, fair and constructive. The empirical research is limited by the range of interviewees, but provides revealing information that brings a fuller picture and is the foundation for further research that is more inclusive. Vostal´s work is a basis for pursuing solutions and alternatives.” (Luke Martell, LSE Review of Books, blogs.lse.ac.uk, August, 2017)
Filip Vostal examines the changing nature of academic time, and analyzes the 'will to accelerate' that has emerged as a significant cultural and structural force in knowledge production.
Filip Vostal examines the changing nature of academic time, and analyzes the 'will to accelerate' that has emerged as a significant cultural and structural force in knowledge production.
Introduction. The Pulse of Modern Academia
1. Thematizing Acceleration
2. Continuity and Change in the Temporal Dynamics of Capitalism
3. Vehicularity: The Idea of the Knowledge Economy
4. Performativity: Competitiveness and Excellence
5. Acceleration in the Academic Life-World
6. Fast Sites: Igniting and Catapulting Knowledge
7. Sociology, Fast and Slow
Conclusion. For a Temporal Autonomy of Academia
"The present-day university has become a hot topic in several sociology, anthropology and philosophy subfields. Filip Vostal's debut monograph on the institutional transformations and subjective experiences of (social) scientists at universities is a welcome addition to the burgeoning interdisciplinary area of critical studies of science, higher education and academia." (Milena Kremakova, International Studies in the Philosophy of Science, Vol. 31 (2), March, 2018)
"I recommend Vostal's book highly. He gives us considered, inquiring reflections across a broad literature on neoliberalism and speed at universities, and is critical, fair and constructive. The empirical research is limited by the range of interviewees, but provides revealing information that brings a fuller picture and is the foundation for further research that is more inclusive. Vostal's work is a basis for pursuing solutions and alternatives." (Luke Martell, LSE Review of Books, blogs.lse.ac.uk, August, 2017)
Über den Autor
Filip Vostal is a Postdoctoral Researcher at the Centre for Science, Technology, and Society Studies at the Institute of Philosophy of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Czech Republic.
Inhaltsverzeichnis
Introduction. The Pulse of Modern Academia
1. Thematizing Acceleration
2. Continuity and Change in the Temporal Dynamics of Capitalism
3. Vehicularity: The Idea of the Knowledge Economy
4. Performativity: Competitiveness and Excellence
5. Acceleration in the Academic Life-World
6. Fast Sites: Igniting and Catapulting Knowledge
7. Sociology, Fast and Slow
Conclusion. For a Temporal Autonomy of Academia
Klappentext
Filip Vostal examines the changing nature of academic time, and analyzes the 'will to accelerate' that has emerged as a significant cultural and structural force in knowledge production.
