Re: [xmca] University & Conformity

Dear Michalis,

Thanks for sharing your thoughts. You refer to the neo-liberal educational
reforms in Europe, in which the 'dysfunctionality' of the university is the
main argument used by neo-liberal politicians in order to "convince the public
opinion that competition between universities and evaluation, free market of
knowledge, commercialization of education etc. are the only existing
possibilities towards broader national development, progress, etc."

You seem to prefer or emphasize a (Marxist?) class perspective, but I doubt
that Marxist(oid) explanatory models can illuminate the problem of
(subcultural) conformism.

Historical experience seems to suggest that universities could gain from
keeping more distance to the political field. The University of Naples was
never very distinguished; the University of the Roman Couria was worst of all,
because it was too close to the pope. The “provincial” Bologna epitomized the
extreme vitality of twelfth- and early-thirteenth-century European society – a
rapid rate of demographic and economic growth coupled with considerable
political dislocation and disorganization.

As summarized by Le Goff, "Academics . . . sought to define themselves as an
intellectual aristocracy, endowed with . . . [a] specific morality and code of
values". For this intellectual "nobility", nothing was more important than
autonomy.

Eric.

On 2008-05-23, at 13:02, Michalis Kontopodis wrote:
> Dear Eric,
>
> I cannot resist commending your ideas: at the moment a neo-liberal
> educational reform is taking place in Europe--which I experience at
> two different sites: Germany (centre, where I work) and Greece
> (european periphery, where I come from).
>
> The 'dysfunctionality' of the (public) university is the main
> argument, which neo-liberal politicians use, in order to convince the
> public opinion that competition between universities and evaluation,
> free market of knowledge, commercialization of education etc. are the
> only existing possibilities towards broader national development,
> progress, etc.
>
> In this context, the upper classes of Greece & Germany which are
> mainly represented in the university (as well as in other state
> institutions) seem to lose their privileges and turn into either
> normal workers (short term contracts, less security etc.) or into
> managers of research centers (much more profit, than ever before).
>
> At the same time, students mainly from middle social classes (not
> legal or illegal migrants, not workers) protest for maintaining the
> free public educational system, academic freedom etc.
>
> The university in (West) Germany and in Greece has never been indeed
> revolutionary. In its best times it represented the development of
> middle class and supported its establishment by means of state
> politics, funds, long-term working contracts etc. Exams, notes,
> certificates etc. have been the tools that supported this
> establishment and attributed a lot of authority to university as an
> institution. The division of theory & praxis, the disciplinary
> knowledge and the abstract and universal way science views the world
> as a meaningful whole have also been important characteristics of this
> development.
>
> Taking under consideration that no university existed in the medieval
> mediterranean space, and the particular character the university has
> gained after the French Revolution, I would argue that: from the very
> beginning of capitalism or of modernity the European university had
> the above-mentioned internal contradictions which are expressed in a
> very particular way in the context of contemporary neo-liberalism,
> globalisation etc.
>
> I would be very happy if the university would be re-territorialized
> and connected to pioneer social praxis and am sure that educational
> cooperations between schools and universities, community education and
> other programs (see: Cole, Hedegaard & Chaiklin, M. Gibson etc.),
> social and political anthropological projects etc. can be seen as
> examples of how such a social praxis would look like.
>
>
>
> Michalis Kontopodis
>
> research associate
> humboldt university berlin
> tel.: +49 (0) 30 2093 3716
> fax.: +49 (0) 30 2093 3739
> http://www.csal.de
> http://www.iscar.org/de/culthistanthpsy/
>

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Received on Sat May 24 04:16 PDT 2008