Introduction

The strange, magical qualities with which current academic processes and activities have become imbued exist in metaphorical form, and some have their sources in the farthest reaches of the imagination or the depths of the human psyche. This book focuses on the market-oriented refashioning of higher education by analysing it from a fresh perspective. The occult aspects of present-day universities have many dimensions. Many occult economies are now thriving in Africa and elsewhere, fuelled by the hope that affluence might be miraculously and swiftly attainable through mysterious, extraordinarily potent agencies. The book explores those areas of commonality that illuminate its central concerns: those features of corporatisation and managerial governance in contemporary corporatised universities that partake of aspects of ritual, myth, mystery and magic. This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book.