ABSTRACT
Numerous corporatised institutions of higher education provide examples of the ways in which new forms of magic can be generated or longstanding beliefs and practices can either be reinvented or adapted to suit contemporary conditions. As universities have been ensnared by the perilous enchantments of the marketplace, entranced by the aura of power and wealth surrounding the corporate sphere, and entangled in the mazes of managerialism, they have begun to pay the price for this. It is worth noting that various political struggles, including anti-apartheid activism in South Africa, have taken place on many levels, extending from mass mobilisation to armed resistance, non-violent direct action, symbolic protests and intellectual and cultural dissent. There are additional strategies that academics could employ to encourage the growth of that which Readings depicts as "a community of dissensus". For instance, the tactic of defamiliarisation can play an important role in this regard.
