摘要：This paper considers the influence of academic restructuring associated with neo-liberal postsecondary policies on the culture of law schools and legal scholarship in Canada. It offers empirical data from a case study of the Faculty of Law at the University of British Columbia. This paper examines the impact of the changing Canadian political economy on the scholarship and culture at the law school and explores the implications for professional autonomy and academic freedom. The findings suggest that, at the time of data collection (2002-2004), the changing political economy had not (yet) affected the law school at the University of British Columbia in the same manner as other jurisdictions and disciplines described in the literature. The data shows that law professors who participated in the study experienced increasing pressures associated with corporatization, commodification and marketization in the larger university, however they consistently described high levels of academic freedom and professional autonomy over their work and scholarship. While there is some evidence of the transformation of academic culture associated with economic restructuring there is also evidence that law professors at this school have maintained control over the direction of their intellectual scholarship.Cet article se penche sur l’influence de la restructuration académique associée aux politiques postsecondaires néo-libérales sur la culture au sein des écoles de droit et sur les études juridiques au Canada. Il présente des données empiriques à partir d’une étude de cas de la Faculté de droit à l’Université de Colombie- Britannique. L’article examine l’impact de l’économie politique canadienne changeante sur l’érudition et la culture à l’école de droit et explore ce que cela implique pour l’autonomie professionnelle et la liberté de l’enseignement. Les résultats suggèrent qu’au moment de la collecte des données (2002-2004), l’économie politique changeante n’avait pas (encore) eut d’effet sur l’école de droit à l’Université de Colombie-Britannique de la même façon que dans d’autres secteurs et d’autres disciplines décrites dans la littérature. Les données indiquent que les professeurs de droit qui ont participé à l’étude sentaient des pressions croissantes associées à la corporatisation, la commercialisation et la marchandisation à l’université dans son ensemble, toutefois ils ont décrit régulièrement de hauts niveaux de liberté de l’enseignement et d’autonomie professionnelle par rapport à leur travail et leurs études. Quoiqu’il existe de l’évidence de la transformation de la culture académique associée à la restructuration économique, il y a aussi de l’évidence que les professeurs de droit de cette école ont maintenu le contrôle de l’orientation de leur travail intellectuel.
其他摘要：This paper considers the influence of academic restructuring associated with neo-liberal postsecondary policies on the culture of law schools and legal scholarship in Canada. It offers empirical data from a case study of the Faculty of Law at the University of British Columbia. This paper examines the impact of the changing Canadian political economy on the scholarship and culture at the law school and explores the implications for professional autonomy and academic freedom. The findings suggest that, at the time of data collection (2002-2004), the changing political economy had not (yet) affected the law school at the University of British Columbia in the same manner as other jurisdictions and disciplines described in the literature. The data shows that law professors who participated in the study experienced increasing pressures associated with corporatization, commodification and marketization in the larger university, however they consistently described high levels of academic freedom and professional autonomy over their work and scholarship. While there is some evidence of the transformation of academic culture associated with economic restructuring there is also evidence that law professors at this school have maintained control over the direction of their intellectual scholarship.
