We will define for you
the boundaries and focus of your labor
the purpose and means of research
what counts as knowledge
whose knowledge counts

Our lawyers will help you understand
that whatever carries our brand
is our property, including your communication, your data
your image, its crafting, your free time,
your dreams and the thoughts you have not had yet

We kindly remind you that
you are our poster child, not a public intellectual
you are only useful as long as you can produce
the deliverables that guarantee
our overheads and our prestige

So, smile, nod your head
measure your words, don’t rock the boat
there is much at stake
bills to pay, your children’s education,
tenure and careers of people you care about

Get over yourself and get used to
surveillance, proletarization
precaritization, flexibilization,
micro-managment, litigation and alienation
from labour, from authorship, from ownership, from self

You will find wisdom in the fact that
academic autonomy is over-rated
tenure is a redundant luxury
insolence is professional suicide
having a job is a blessing

do you know how many people
would give everything to be in your place?

All artistic expressions published on this blog were created by Vanessa Andreotti and are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.