Synopses & Reviews
With funding cuts well underway and many institutions already promising to charge the maximum £9,000 (approx. $15,000 USD) yearly tuition fee in Britain, university education for the majority is under threat. This book exposes the true motives behind the government's program and provides the analytical tools to fight it. Widespread student protests and occupations, often supported by staff, unions, and society at large, show the public's opposition to funding cuts and fee increases. The contributors to this sharp, well-written collection, many of whom are active participants in the anti-cuts movement, outline what's at stake and why it matters. They argue that university education is becoming increasingly skewed towards vocational degrees, which devalues the arts and social sciences subjects that allow creativity and political inquiry to flourish. Released near the beginning of the new academic year, this book will be at the heart of debates around the future of higher education in the UK and beyond, inspiring both new and seasoned activists in the fight for the soul of our universities.
Review
"This is going to be an essential book. The future of our universities is up for grabs and the manifesto is going to play a huge role in providing alternatives at a time when the government says there isn't one." --Clare Solomon, President of the University of London Union (ULU) and author of Springtime (2011)
Synopsis
With funding cuts well under way and many institutions already promising to charge the maximum 9,000 yearly tuition fee, university education for the majority is under threat. This book exposes the true motives behind the government's programme and provides the analytical tools to fight it.
Widespread student protests and occupations, often supported by staff, unions and society at large, show the public's opposition to funding cuts and fee increases. The contributors to this sharp, well-written collection, many of whom are active participants in the anti-cuts movement, outline what's at stake and why it matters. They argue that university education is becoming increasingly skewed towards vocational degrees, which devalues the arts and social sciences - subjects that allow creativity and political inquiry to flourish.
Released at the beginning of the new academic year, this book will be at the heart of debates around the future of higher education in the UK and beyond, inspiring both new and seasoned activists in the fight for the soul of our universities.
Synopsis
Investigates how consumerist values are forced upon children in order to shape them into under-aged hyperconsumers.
About the Author
Sharon Beder is a visiting professor in the School of Social Sciences, Media and Communication at the University of Wollongong. She is considered a leading authority on corporate and environmental issues, for which she has won a number of awards. She is the author of nine other books, including Free Market Missionaries: The Corporate Manipulation of Community Values (2006), Power Play: The Fight for Control of the World's Electricity (2003), Selling the Work Ethic: From Puritan Pulpit to Corporate PR (2000) and Global Spin: The Corporate Assault on Environmentalism (1997; 2nd ed. 2002)._x000B__x000B_Dr Wendy Varney is an honorary fellow at the University of New South Wales._x000B_Dr Richard Gosden is a full time writer and researcher based in Australia. He is the author of Punishing the Patient: How Psychiatrists Misunderstand and Mistreat Schizophrenia (2001)
Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION
1. An Introduction to Education Reform and Resistance by Des Freedman
Part 1: THE CHANGING IDEA OF THE UNIVERSITY
2. The Idea of the University, by John K. Walton
3. What is a University Education For?, by Neil Faulkner
4. Fighting for the Universitys Life by Nick Couldry
Part II: CURRENT CHALLENGES AND FUTURE VISIONS
5. Economic Alternatives in the Current Crisis, by Aeron Davis
6. Re-Imagining the Public Good, by Jon Nixon
7. The War Against Democracy and Education, by Nick Stevenson
Part III: CRITICAL PEDAGOGY
8. The University as a Political Space, by Alberto Toscano
9. The Academic as Truth-Teller, by Michael Bailey
10. Impoverished Pedagogy, Privatised Practice, by Natalie Fenton
Part IV: STUDENT POLITICS
11. Students Revolts Then and Now, by John Rees
12. The Politics of Occupation, by Feyzi Ismail
13. Achievements and Limitations of the UK Student Movement, by Ashok Kumar
Part V: INTERNATIONAL PERSPECTIVES
14. Beyond the Swindle of the Corporate University by Henry A. Giroux
15. Education Reforms in a European Context, by Marion von Osten
16. International Students and the Globalization of Higher Education, by Kirsten Forkert
The Manifesto
Notes on contributors
Index