Brief Analysis of a Neoliberal Education: A Case Study of Influencers of Bowdoin College
In my project, I will be exploring a postcolonial imagination of elite education in the United States. The subject of my research will be primarily on private school education at the college level. Some key questions I will ask is: Do private colleges in the US subscribe to neoliberal practices? If so, how do these college compete with each other? For example, I will explore the marketing of an elite liberal arts school and the socioeconomic and cultural benefits that entails from its legitimacy. This includes the mission of the school, the alumni network, rankings, and the cost of tuition. I will utilize Bowdoin as a case study example in my study. In terms of data collection, I will draw information from the board of trustees, alumni network, networking opportunities, and admissions. Lastly, I will draw on the theories from our class readings and then positing the information I gathered from the United States Department of Education, private elite colleges in the U.S., and Bowdoin to understand how neoliberalism encompasses elite higher education in the U.S.
Lopez’s Comments:
Simon, I like the project that your propose. However, it needs to be narrowed up a bit. One of the questions you ask is: Do private colleges in the US subscribe to the neoliberal practices? My answer would be yes, without question. So, therefore, the question you ask should be more like: How do they subscribe to neoliberal practices?
Also, because you only aim to examine Bowdoin, your research is not generalizable to schools with similar profiles. You will need think of this as more of a case study that provides analytical insight into how neoliberalism operates at private colleges.
I’d like to see greater progress with your portfolio in total. You are behind on things without your methodology and two missed weekly logs.