#01 Bacchus reading group summary

Date of meeting 2021-07-01

Housekeeping comments:

• Rene is to write 1 page summaries after each meeting, in order to circulate and archive themes discussed. As a long term aim, maybe in two years’ time or some something, it might lead to a paper in which specific themes of the discussion are explored in a structured fashion.

  • The structure of the goal, meetings etc. is an ongoing evolution

• Monthly meetings, of an hour length with a short paper to ground the discussion within and overarching question to kick-start the thinking were felt to be a good way to proceed.

• Rene is going to select specific reading suggestions, and email them at least two weeks before the meeting as to give everyone enough time to at least browse through.  

Summary on reflections around this months reading material:

Anderson, R. (2010). The ‘Idea of a University’ today. History & Policy, 1, 22-26.

• There is a long history of development of the idea of university, tracing itself back to Humboldt, and academia as an institution that can trace itself all the way back to antiquity (e.g. Plato). There is constant change, and imperfect institutions have to struggle between the utopian thinking (e.g. knowledge for its own sake) and practical survival needs

  • Two interconnected questions arise, (1) what stays the same that we can speak of linear development, and (2) what are the mechanisms of change to retain self-determination?

• In the last 10 years, mangerialism seems to have become much more pronounced.

  • Partially, because of the introduction of student fees and removal of student caps,

  • As well because of top down dictates in terms of research priorities that inhibit (blue sky) research that is not in line with these  

  • Academics are no longer managed by fellow academics, but also by professional research managers and administrators

• The clinical removal of the consequences from the impact of the tyranny of metrics, makes the managerial class to some degree unware of the impact of their own actions

  • Managerial priorities, from different forms of management (research grants, impact, student recruitment, outreach etc.) , can be contradicting in practice, and because the different parts of the university management do not communicate with each other AND academics are not actively addressing these contradictions they are left to solve these conflicts on their own

• What type of role model are the professors, teaching the “professionals” here, when their example is to put up with conditions that they themselves deem adverse to their own mental health

• The pressures upon the British university system are largely externally imposed

  • In terms of research evaluation ala REF, utility of research ala KEF, student targets ala TEF etc. Nevertheless, how they are interpreted and implemented is a local issue.

  • Likewise, there are no single easily identifiable individual that are responsible, as the problems are endemic to the system as a whole.

  • Similarly, institutions are imperfect as they are run by humans which are imperfect   

• “Impact” of the these types of discussions that ponder the utility of university and its purpose can be at all levels of the implementation, local, national and global

  • The very framing of what makes something useful, what is critical thinking, what counts as “improvement”, how to best teach the next generation etc. are all worthwhile discussions, and need space and time to think through properly. 

• Last noteworthy point, self-reflection revealed that successors seem not to be motivated to participate within the contemporary “academic game” once they understand its reality

  • Potential inference that there is something amiss.