Idea of the University: Recent Episodes
Cambridge University
CRASSH 10th Anniversary Lecture Series: The Idea of the University
Further lectures in the series are:
Professor Stefan Collini: The Very Idea of the University Tuesday, 11 Oct 2011
Professor Sir Leszek Borysiewicz: The Idea of the University Tuesday, 25 Oct 2011
Professor Martin Rees: The Idea of the University Tuesday, 8 Nov 2011
Professor Simon Szreter: The Idea of a University in a Democracy: Rivalry, Diversity and Equality of Opportunity Tuesday, 29 Nov 2011
Professor Simon Szreter
Due to unforeseen circumstances, Professor Simon Schaffer will unfortunately no longer deliver this lecture. The final lecture of the Idea of the University series will be delivered by Simon Szreter (Professor of History and Public Policy, University of Cambridge). Abstract
In this lecture I will offer a critique of the three key policy terms in the recent Government White Paper, which are 'competition', 'choice' and 'access'. I will argue that these are fundamentally misleading terms, a set of Trojan Horses in the discourse. Instead the Idea of a University in a democratic society should be discussed in our public discourse in terms of rivalry, diversity and equality of opportunity.
Professor Sir Leszek Borysiewicz
Leszek Borysiewicz (Vice-Chancellor, University of Cambridge) gives the third in a series of six lectures on The Idea of the University.
Following the recent Government white paper entitled Students at the Heart of the System, the Vice-Chancellor will review the many roles of a university in the 21st century.
Professor Onora O'Neill (former Principal, Newnham College) will give the second in a series of six lectures on The Idea of the University.
Professor Stefan Collini (English, University of Cambridge) will give the first in a series of six lectures on The Idea of the University.
Abstract
A lot of different, and incompatible, roles are assigned to universities, as they always have been, but one way to begin to think about their distinctiveness is to see them as institutions which are primarily devoted to extending and deepening human understanding. This is a pretty outrageous idea: no other institutions have this as their primary purpose. But what is the relation between such abstract generalities and the great variety of types of university that actually exist and the circumstances in which they, now, in 2011, find themselves? This lecture offers a few brief reflections on the history and current state of the institution we call the university, and then goes on to propose a vocabulary and a perspective which enable us to discuss the role of such institutions in more fruitful terms than the clichés about ‘contributing to economic growth’ which currently dominate public debate on the topic.