Pausing to be human in the neoliberal university: Relational pedagogy and the politics of presence

Flannery, Lauren (2025) Pausing to be human in the neoliberal university: Relational pedagogy and the politics of presence. Compass: Journal of Learning and Teaching, 18 (1).

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Abstract

When higher education is increasingly driven by metrics, efficiency and performative productivity, what does it mean to pause, to slow down, to feel… to be, simply, human? This opinion piece explores how relational pedagogy, grounded in presence and affect, offers a quiet but powerful form of resistance within the neoliberal university. Drawing on recent research and practice, I argue that pausing is not a retreat from the demands of academic life, but an intentional pedagogical act, one that re-centres connection, care and co-presence in our teaching and learning environments. In doing so, we begin to reimagine not only how we teach, but what kind of academic cultures we wish to cultivate.

Item Type: Article
Uncontrolled Keywords: relational pedagogy,connection,higher education,presence,affect
Faculty \ School: Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences > School of Health Sciences
Faculty of Social Sciences > School of Education and Lifelong Learning
Related URLs:
Depositing User: LivePure Connector
Date Deposited: 06 Nov 2025 11:30
Last Modified: 06 Nov 2025 11:30
URI: https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/100921
DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.17236652

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