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University Bureaucracies as the Death of Play: The 1968 Strax Affair and the Arts of Discombobulation

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Title: University Bureaucracies as the Death of Play: The 1968 Strax Affair and the Arts of Discombobulation
Language: English
Authors: Harrison Dressler, Noah Pleshet, Daniel Tubb
Source: Critical Education. 2025 16(1):125-154.
Availability: Institute for Critical Education Studies. 2125 Main Mall, EDCP, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, V6T 1Z4 Canada. Tel: 604-822-2830; Web site: https://ices.library.ubc.ca/index.php/criticaled/
Peer Reviewed: Y
Page Count: 31
Publication Date: 2025
Document Type: Journal Articles
Reports - Evaluative
Descriptors: Foreign Countries, Administrative Organization, Neoliberalism, Educational Philosophy, Social Justice, Play, Commercialization, Individualized Instruction, Communication Strategies, Cognitive Mapping, Educational Change, Democratic Values, Resistance (Psychology), Change Strategies, Participative Decision Making, Activism, Administrative Principles
Geographic Terms: Canada
ISSN: 1920-4175
Abstract: The bureaucratic precepts engendered by modern universities produce a slew of negative effects inimical to educational justice. Drawing on historiographical evidence from the 1968 Strax Affair, a little-known protest held at the University of New Brunswick, we identify the arts of discombobulation as a novel approach to challenge the intellectual constraints imposed by university bureaucracies. By theorizing the arts of discombobulation, we aim to counteract bureaucracy's most alienating affective residues, equipping scholars with an administrative arsenal capable of transforming the corporate academy into a playful, joyful environment. Inspired by cultural historian Johan Huizinga's theory of the "play-function," we introduce five interrelated tactics--burlesque versions of both formal and informal administrative practices-- that amplify the contradictions inherent to the corporate academy's contemporary bureaucratic structure: personalization, befuddlement, signal jamming, mapping, and abeyance. Even during moments of Kafkaesque bureaucratic defeat, discombobulation can generate a sense of heightened play necessary to fuel democratic resistance.
Abstractor: As Provided
Entry Date: 2025
Accession Number: EJ1463506
Database: ERIC
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  Data: Institute for Critical Education Studies. 2125 Main Mall, EDCP, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, V6T 1Z4 Canada. Tel: 604-822-2830; Web site: https://ices.library.ubc.ca/index.php/criticaled/
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  Data: The bureaucratic precepts engendered by modern universities produce a slew of negative effects inimical to educational justice. Drawing on historiographical evidence from the 1968 Strax Affair, a little-known protest held at the University of New Brunswick, we identify the arts of discombobulation as a novel approach to challenge the intellectual constraints imposed by university bureaucracies. By theorizing the arts of discombobulation, we aim to counteract bureaucracy's most alienating affective residues, equipping scholars with an administrative arsenal capable of transforming the corporate academy into a playful, joyful environment. Inspired by cultural historian Johan Huizinga's theory of the "play-function," we introduce five interrelated tactics--burlesque versions of both formal and informal administrative practices-- that amplify the contradictions inherent to the corporate academy's contemporary bureaucratic structure: personalization, befuddlement, signal jamming, mapping, and abeyance. Even during moments of Kafkaesque bureaucratic defeat, discombobulation can generate a sense of heightened play necessary to fuel democratic resistance.
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      – Text: English
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        PageCount: 31
        StartPage: 125
    Subjects:
      – SubjectFull: Foreign Countries
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Administrative Organization
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      – SubjectFull: Neoliberalism
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      – SubjectFull: Social Justice
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      – SubjectFull: Play
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      – SubjectFull: Commercialization
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      – SubjectFull: Individualized Instruction
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      – SubjectFull: Communication Strategies
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      – SubjectFull: Cognitive Mapping
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      – SubjectFull: Educational Change
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      – SubjectFull: Democratic Values
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      – SubjectFull: Resistance (Psychology)
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      – SubjectFull: Change Strategies
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      – SubjectFull: Participative Decision Making
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      – SubjectFull: Activism
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      – SubjectFull: Administrative Principles
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      – SubjectFull: Canada
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      – TitleFull: University Bureaucracies as the Death of Play: The 1968 Strax Affair and the Arts of Discombobulation
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