Economies of misery: success and surplus in the research university

Abstract

ABSTRACT This article draws on the author’s experiences with alcoholism and mental illness to critique narratives of merit and success in the research university. Theorizing what the author calls economies of misery, the article describes anxiety, depression, and substance abuse as manifestations of the affective surplus that remains after one has achieved what the research university characterizes as success. The article ends with a call to reclaim this surplus and strategize responses to the research university’s cultures of cruelty. Content warning: Descriptions of addiction, mental illness, self-harm, and suicidal ideation.