What's Going On at UAardvark? is a fast-paced political satire about how an increasingly corporatized, modern American university becomes the site of a rambunctious rebellion that turns the nation's campus life upside down.
Along the way, there are hilarious encounters with a playboy university president, bizarre U.S. military commanders, poetry-writing Hells Angels, foul-mouthed, decadent students, an unusually avaricious corporate titan, gun-toting "Christian Patriots," a schizophrenic FBI director, hypocritical politicians, a witch-like union leader, and a host of other zany characters. All in all, What's Going On at UAardvark? sets readers off on a laugh-filled romp through what has become a serious issue in contemporary America: the corporate takeover of higher education.
This second edition of the acclaimed novel contains a preface by the author in which he reflects upon nationwide developments since the appearance of the first edition in the spring of 2013. In it, he asks, provocatively: "When it comes to bizarre behavior on college and university campuses - or, for that matter, in the United States - how can a writer possibly stay ahead of the curve?"
Praise for What's Going On at UAardvark?
"Lawrence Wittner has channeled the spirits of Kurt Vonnegut, Charlie Chaplin, Woody Allen, Jon Stewart, the Serb kids who overthrew Milosevic, and at least two of the Three Stooges into this delightfully dystopic, comic novel. If you enjoy the bursting of pretensions and political pratfalls, you'll love this story."
-Professor Tom Hastings, Portland State University, and former President,
Peace and Justice Studies Association
"Observers of academic life will recognize key aspects of the contemporary U.S. university scene in this dystopian send-up - the campus takeover by Fortune 500 corporations; MBA modeling of the college 'product' and 'brand'; a campus president who relishes revenge against a brighter faculty; the bored and drugged student body; the abolition of liberal arts courses; and the effort to eliminate full-time, tenured faculty. The uproarious revolt that occurs against this new university model will inspire wishful thinking among many of us."
-Professor Sandi Cooper, President, Faculty Senate, City University of New York
"Humorous, insightful... In this farcical novel, Wittner... shows what can happen when school administrators begin invoking business models... A well-paced university novel, certain to provide academics with many knowing chuckles."
-Kirkus Reviews
"What's Going On at UAardvark? offers a satiric look at the contemporary university, full of humorous caricatures."
-The Satirist
About the Author: Lawrence Wittner is the author or editor of thirteen books, including Working for Peace and Justice and Confronting the Bomb. A frequent contributor to the History News Network, Huffington Post, Common Dreams, truthout, and many other publications, he is Professor of History emeritus at the State University of New York/Albany.
