Neoliberal University or Liberating University? Alternatives to the Commodification of Higher Education

Abstract

Higher education is currently a space in dispute, both for its social function and for the potential profits it can generate when it is exploited as a business like any other, seen as a simple investment. In order to deny the mercantilizing conception of higher education, it is necessary to reflect on the university and its role. Paulo Freire's pedagogical contributions, understood as a starting point for a liberating praxis in the university, can contribute as a tool for this process. The present paper highlights the contrast between the neoliberal conception of university and that of a university for the oppressed. To this end, the article conducts a literature review that situates the reader in relation to the adaptation of universities to the neoliberal agenda, as well as the formulations in relation to resistance to the market model. In this way, the importance of the public model of university can be reaffirmed, focused on meeting the demands of the working population.