ABSTRACT
Capturing the voices of Americans living with student debt in the United States, this collection critiques the neoliberal interest-driven, debt-based system of U.S. higher education and offers alternatives to neoliberal capitalism and the corporatized university. Grounded in an understanding of the historical and political economic context, this book offers auto-ethnographic experiences of living in debt, and analyzes alternatives to the current system. Chapter authors address real questions such as, Do collegians overestimate the economic value of going to college? and How does the monetary system that student loans are part of operate? Pinpointing how developments in the political economy are accountable for students’ university experiences, this book provides an authoritative contribution to research in the fields of educational foundations and higher education policy and finance.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
part I|72 pages
Critical Perspectives on Financing Higher Education in the United States
chapter 1|16 pages
Financing Higher Education in the United States
part II|85 pages
The Debt That Won’t Go Away
chapter 6|12 pages
“BFAMFAPhD”
chapter 7|13 pages
Debt(s) We Can’t Walk Out On
chapter 8|11 pages
Misplaced Faith in the American Dream
part III|110 pages
Alternatives to American Neoliberal Financing of Higher Education