Audit Cultures: Anthropological Studies in Accountability, Ethics and the Academy

Audit Cultures examines the rise of accountability practices and audit mechanisms across academic and professional institutions. The book brings together anthropological perspectives on how cultures of assessment, measurement and evaluation have transformed organizational life. The contributors analyze case studies from universities, NGOs and other institutions to document the concrete impacts of audit practices. Their research reveals how performance metrics and evaluation systems reshape work practices, professional identities, and institutional structures. The collection moves beyond critiquing audit culture to explore its complex social and cultural dimensions. It considers both the disruptive effects of new accountability regimes and the ways people navigate, resist and repurpose them in different contexts. This volume provides insight into fundamental questions about power, knowledge and value in contemporary institutions. The anthropological analysis illuminates how audit practices reflect and reinforce broader shifts in how society conceives of responsibility, trust and expertise.

Readers note this book's detailed examination of audit culture in academia through anthropological case studies. Positive feedback focuses on: - Clear analysis of how audit processes affect academic institutions - Strong theoretical frameworks for understanding accountability systems - Useful examples from multiple countries and contexts Common criticisms include: - Dense academic language that can be difficult to follow - Some chapters feel disconnected from the main themes - Limited practical applications or solutions offered One reader on Goodreads commented that the book "provides important insights into the bureaucratization of higher education" while another noted it was "too jargon-heavy for non-specialists." Ratings: Goodreads: 3.7/5 (12 ratings) Google Books: No ratings available Amazon: No ratings available The book appears primarily read in academic settings, with few public reviews available. Most discussion occurs in scholarly citations rather than consumer reviews.

Cultivating Differences: Symbolic Boundaries and the Making of Inequality by Michele Lamont This collection examines how cultural evaluation systems and institutional practices create social hierarchies within academic and professional settings.

Academic Capitalism and the New Economy by Sheila Slaughter The book analyzes how market forces reshape higher education through assessment metrics, commercialization, and performance measurement.

The University in Ruins by Bill Readings This work traces the transformation of universities from cultural institutions to corporate-style organizations driven by performance indicators and excellence metrics.

The Metric Society: On the Quantification of the Social by Steffen Mau The text explores how ranking systems, performance measurements, and quantification practices reconstruct social institutions and human behavior.

Disciplining Excellence: On the Logic of Competition in Higher Education by Richard Münch This analysis reveals how audit culture and competitive metrics transform academic knowledge production and institutional governance.

📚 The book emerged from a 1996 workshop at the European Association of Social Anthropologists conference, bringing together scholars concerned about the rising "audit culture" in academia. 🎓 Author Marilyn Strathern served as President of the Royal Anthropological Institute (1997-2001) and was the first female Mistress of Girton College, Cambridge University. 📊 The term "audit culture" describes how methods from financial accounting have spread into other areas of life, particularly education and research, creating new forms of bureaucratic control. 🌍 The book includes case studies from multiple countries, including Norway, Canada, and the UK, showing how audit culture affects different academic contexts globally. 📝 The work helped establish a new subfield in anthropology focused on studying accountability systems and performance metrics in modern institutions, particularly their unintended consequences.