The University in Crisis

This course is an exploration of the university, which the sociologist Gerard Delanty has called “the paradigmatic institution of the public sphere and of modernity in general.” In many countries, the project of building a prestigious university has gone hand in hand with boosting one’s international standing. However, much like the dreams of progress and enlightenment that the modern public sphere was supposed to grant, belief in the university has begun to waver, leading many to declare it in a state of crisis. In this course we explore the political, ideological, and material conditions from which the university emerged, appreciating both its own course of internal development and its growing importance in society at large.

Each week, we unfold this contested terrain by looking at key areas in which the university navigates potential sources of crisis. These are: past vs. future; local vs. global; student vs. university; professor vs. administration; discipline vs. discipline; economics vs. education; and elite vs. mass. 

After exploring these various sources of conflict which led many to declare that the university is in crisis, we attempt to imagine its future in a rapidly changing world.