Introduction

This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book discusses themes that constitute overarching conceptual and theoretical frameworks, namely the relationship between capitalism and the global socio-ecological crisis and universities as contradictory spaces in the modern world. It explores the juxtaposition of the corporatization and the sustainability in universities during the neoliberal era. The book examines the corporatization of Australian universities. It explores the sustainability policies, practices, and programs in Australian universities which to a greater or lesser extent have enthusiastically embraced the environmental sustainability discourse, as have universities in the US, UK, and elsewhere. The book examines sustainability policies, practices, and programs at the University of Melbourne. It poses the question how environmentally sustainable is the internationalization of Australian universities. The book pushes the envelope by exploring strategies for creating a more socially just and environmentally sustainable university.