Power, Space, and Performativity

Power, Space, and Performativity: Critical Interventions in Educational Policy, Governance, and Leadership

This talk brings together two chapters written by CPELS faculty members for the upcoming Sage Handbook of Critical Educational Leadership (R. Desmarchelier & S. Steinberg, Eds.).
· The Neoliberal University: Investigating the Experiences of Faculty Members in the Era of Neoliberal Accountability and Performativity in Ontario Universities - Dr. Melanie Lawrence and Dr. Goli Rezai-Rashti
· Theorizing Space in Critical Educational Administration and Leadership - Dr. Gus Riveros

In this session, the authors invite the audience to reflect on how the political economy mediates the (re)production of academic regimes in educational institutions. As hegemonic forms of governance arise and remain, performativity and accountability are engaged to reconfigure social relations, educational subjectivities, and ultimately, the very materiality of educational institutions. These reconfigurations do not occur in a vacuum; they are made possible by socio-spatial relations. This talk proposes a critical analysis of the conditions that made such regimes possible in the first place, thus recentering educational institutions as emancipatory spaces.

• When: Friday, December 4, 2026, 11:00 am – 12:00 pm
• Where: Community Room (FEB 1139)