Ideologies of the Knowledge Society and the Cultural Contradictions of Higher Education

Abstract

Much discussed in recent times is the idea of the knowledge society. However, on closer inspection we find that this is a highly contested concept and, moreover, it is associated with new ideologies, of which three are discussed in the article: postmodernism, neo-liberalism and third wayism. It is argued that these new ideologies are impacting on higher education, which is consequently experiencing far-reaching cultural contradictions. The article examines six of these: the contradiction of teaching and research, the contradiction of efficiency and scholarship, the contradiction of massification and democratisation, the contradiction of management and leadership, the contradiction of opinion and knowledge, and the contradiction of science and technology.