Academic Brands

Explores the rise of the brand as a medium through which the modern university represents and remakes itself.

Mario Biagioli (Edited by), Madhavi Sunder (Edited by)

9781108841375, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 21 July 2022

246 pages
23.5 x 15.7 x 1.7 cm, 0.5 kg

'This one-of-a-kind collection integrates scholarship on trademarks, marketing, and communication with analyses of the so-called neoliberal university to examine the social, cultural, and political contexts of higher education in relation to the rise of the brand economy. Wide in scope and non-technical in presentation, it offers some lessons for higher education leaders and many insights for critical scholars. … Highly recommended.' M. J. Garrison, Choice

The first comprehensive analysis of the emergence of academic brands, this book explores how the modern university is being transformed in an increasingly global economy of higher education where luxury is replacing access. More than just a sign of corporatization and privatization, academic brands provide a unique window on the university's concerns and struggles with conveying 'excellence' and reputation in a competitive landscape organized by rankings, while also capitalizing on its brand to generate revenue when state support dwindles. This multidisciplinary volume addresses topics including the uniqueness of academic brands, their role in the global brand economy of distinction, and their vulnerability to problematic social and political associations. By focusing on brands, the volume analyzes the tensions between the university's traditional commitment to public interest values – education, research, and the production of knowledge – and its increasingly managerial culture framed by corporate, private values. Available as Open Access on Cambridge Core.

Prologue: Mario Biagioli and Madhavi Sunder
Part I. Are Academic Brands Distinctive: 1. Distinctive Excellence Mario Biagioli
2. One of a kind like you: The university as a personalized generic Celia Lury
3. The public higher education brand Deven Desai
Part II. Local and Global Dimensions: 4. Academic brands and online education Paul Berman
5. University brands as Geographical indications Jeremy Sheff
6. Elite universities as luxury brands Haochen Sun
Part III. Conflicted Interests, Haunting Associations: 7. Academic branding and cognitive dissonance Mark Bartholomew
8. A captive audience: Corporate propaganda on the American college campus Joshua Hunt
9. When brands go bad: The rise and fall, and Re-Rise and Re-Fall, of Isaac royall, Jr. Janet Halley
Epilogue: The Aesthetic university Madhavi Sunder.

Subject Areas: Intellectual property law [LNR]