During the last decades, the manageralization of universities has transformed the academic space, naturalizing a culture of efficiency, competence and excellence. This phenomenon has required modulating the processes of subjection of academics and, with it, their work identities. In this work we present the results of a discursive analysis of 40 interviews with academics, focused on the subjective aspects in which the neoliberal turn of the university is anchored: Merit, recognition and prestige. We also raised the need to open the gold cage, by critically reviewing these subjections and moving towards collaborative ways of doing academy.
