The Promise of the University: Reclaiming Humanity, Humility, and Hope (Debating Higher Education: Philosophical Perspectives, 10)

"This book offers philosophical readings of the contemporary university and is motivated by a series of pressing challenges in the global context of Higher Education. It argues that the university is a place for community, for refuge, for enlightenment and the careful questioning of knowledge, but it is also a place for visceral ambition and for intellectual cowardice, for blinkered individualism and professional competitiveness. In the context of a highly competitive post-crash global economy, contemporary students are placed under increasing pressure to distinguish themselves from their peers via a portfolio of learning excellence and extracurricular achievement. Growing numbers undertake part or full-time employment in order to cover registration fees and the basic costs of living. University staff take on very different forms of pressure that operate across the life-course of an academic career - from early-career anxieties to the worries of more privileged and permanent faculty who fear they do not meet ever-changing structures, assumptions and demands of the university itself. This book argues that these interlinked agendas demand consideration from philosophers of education in Ireland, Europe and further afield. It proposes that we must embody a very careful balancing act: one where we remember the romantic ideals and promises of the university while still acknowledging the very real and pressing challenges faced by our staff and students. The book will be of interest to academics, graduate students, and advanced-level undergraduates in Philosophy, Education, Mental Health, and Organizational Psychology in both North America and Europe"--Back cover Contents About the Editor Chapter 1: The Gift of the Interval? Revisiting the Promises of Higher Education Introduction Part I: Facing Darkness Part II: Dispelling Shadow Part III: Regaining Light References Part I: Facing Darkness Chapter 2: Character, Corruption, and ‘Cultures of Speed’ in Higher Education Introduction Slowness and Speed Accelerative Vices Speed and Separation Time and Trust References Chapter 3: The Corrosion of Academic Character Introduction Character Construction and Work The Character of Academic Work References Chapter 4: Trust and Institutional Values in Higher Education Accounting for Our Values Displaying Institutional Values Managing Values: Trust and Mistrust Enacting Values in the Neoliberal University References Chapter 5: A Culture of Egotism: Rorty and Higher Education Introduction Rorty and Education Egotism Egotism in Universities Conclusion Bibliography Chapter 6: Early Career Anxieties in the University: The Crisis of Institutional Bad Faith Introduction: The Casual Academic Anxiety in the University Existentialism and the Individual in a Disenchanted World Bad Faith From Individual to Institutional Bad Faith The Crisis of the Institution References Part II: Dispelling Shadow Chapter 7: Re-enchanting Undergraduate Education: On the Project of Metamorphosis in English Higher Education The Disenchanted World: Higher Education in England Today The Path to Re-enchantment: Reclaiming the Romantic Ideal of Undergraduate Education The Existential Ground Metamorphosis and the Halcyon Days Putting the Romantic into Practice References Chapter 8: Reconsidering Student Voice: Švankmajer’s Dimensions of Dialogue and the Claim to Community Introduction Student Voice in the Context of Marketisation Švankmajer’s Dimensions of Dialogue ‘Voice’ in Cavell’s Work Voice, Criteria, and the Claim to Community Stella Dallas and the Recovery of Voice Reconsidering Student Voice References Chapter 9: The Enlightened University The University: A Very Brief History The Darkness of This Time Transparency References Chapter 10: Cultivating Curiosity at University: How Universities Fall Short of Aspiration What Is Virtuous Curiosity? Do Universities Teach Curiosity? Do Universities Reward Curiosity? References Chapter 11: Darkness, Wellness and World Views: The University’s Role in Shaping Students’ Experiences of Mental Health and Distress Introduction Mental Disorder and Mechanism “I’m trying to give life a go”: John’s Story and Contextualism Conclusion References Part III: Regaining Light Chapter 12: Into or Out of the Light? Four Shades of Pedagogical Darkness Introduction Considering Darkness Political Darkness The Troublesome Nature of Troublesomeness Pedagogical Darkness Four Shades of Darkness Conclusions References Chapter 13: Academic Freedom and Trans Experiences: Moving from Proclamation to Response Introduction Academic Freedom as Creative Self-Dispossession Responding with ‘Tactfulness’ to Advocacy Groups Resisting Instrumentalism by Attending to the Present Tactfulness as a Creative Pursuit References Chapter 14: Disillusioned, Disenchanted, Disembodied? Towards a Collective Imagination of the University References Chapter 15: ‘Bothy Culture’: Towards a New Ethics for the University Emerging from the Shadows Scenes from The University Listening Project Mothlight: Navigating the Dichotomies Between Shadows and Light Building and Dwelling: Tales of the City Calling Time References Chapter 16: The Twilight of the University Introduction Twilight and Emersonian Moral Perfectionism From Light to Twilight Rebirth and the Father Tongue The Twilight of the University: The Art of Living with Darkness References Correction to: The Corrosion of Academic Character Afterword References Index