Knowing Your History

Know your history. Given the current running of The Changing University: Inside Nottingham NOOC I thought I would reflect on university histories. Given their nature it's often struck me as rather surprising that universities and their staff tend not to have a well developed sense of institutional history. Research matters to universities but they tend …

From 007 to Registrar

A distinctive new approach to the campus novel Unlikely as it may seem this brief book offers the most exciting representation of a Registrar since Lucky Jim. Set in a real university (York) but with fictional (we hope) characters there is plenty to enjoy here: The present and past lives of James Kerr, university senior manager …

Still waiting for a decent new campus novel?

Fertile territory for Higher Ed fiction? Previous posts on Higher Ed fiction have looked at the end of the campus novel and some flickers in the embers with a few more recent offerings including the Marriage Plot. More recently I also posted on satire in HE which covered, among other things, an unpromising series of British …

That Higher Ed joke isn’t funny any more

Satire in Higher Education. I've written before about books covering higher education in general and the commented on the end of the campus novel as well as its  possible reinvention. More recently, there has been a series of books intended to capture the humorous and darker side of British higher education life: A comic portrayal of modern …

Zombie University

Zombies in the Academy: Living Death in Higher Education Very excited at the news of the publication of Zombies in the Academy: Living Death in Higher Education. Ever since the launch of the zombie course at the University of Baltimore there has clearly been plenty of room for further undead related higher education activity. This …

The Imperfect University: Know Your History

Know your history. For my 700th blog post here I thought I would reflect on university histories. Given their nature it's often struck me as rather surprising that universities and their staff tend not to have a well developed sense of institutional history. Research matters to universities but they tend not to prioritise maintaining their …

Secrets and Interdisciplinarity in 1928: The Combination Room

A reminder of the opening of the Trent Building The office recently received a copy of this commemorative brochure from the opening of the Trent Building of what was then University College Nottingham. The booklet contains a set of line drawings of the Trent Building together with a detailed and somewhat florid commentary by the …

The best book ever written about university life?

Cornford's Microcosmographia Academica A reminder about or introduction to a brief and essential piece of reading for everyone working in higher education. The almost timeless (well, apart from the fact it only features blokes and has an ever so slightly Oxbridge feel) Microcosmographia Academica is of course the essential text for all those with a …

The reinvention of the campus novel?

A new direction for the campus novel? The Chronicle Reviewc has an excellent article on a new campus novel from Jeffrey Eugenides about leaving campus behind. A five year old post on my other blog includes reference to a couple of articles, including one by David Lodge, on the 'end of the campus novel'. The …

Brainy

The Great Brain Race by Ben Wildavsky I read this some months ago but, inexplicably, failed to note the fact. Wildavsky is a clear, cogent and persuasive writer. He provides a good review of the global higher education picture and many of the key issues facing nations and universities. There is, unsurprisingly, plenty of coverage …

The Strategic Plan: a tool for administrative power?

Questioning the purpose of the strategic plan The Chronicle of Higher Education carries an extract from a new book by Benjamin Ginsberg on the 'all-administrative university' which apparently argues that: that the explosive growth in administration, the decline in faculty influence, and the institutional corporatization of American universities contributes to a loss of intellectual rigor. …

Still the End of the Campus Novel?

Why aren't there any good campus novels these days? Inspired by an article in the Guardian by David Lodge about Pnin by Nabokov I wrote a brief piece some five years ago on "The End of the Campus Novel?". With the possible exception of Zadie Smith's On Beauty, have there been any decent campus novels …

Replacing Textbooks With iPads

Another interesting experiment Story in the Chronicle of Higher Education about an interesting experiment at University of Notre Dame where they have tried replacing textbooks with iPads: It was quieter this past fall in Corey Angst’s project-management course at the University of Notre Dame, but it wasn’t because he and his students were talking less. …

Are Undergraduates Actually Learning Anything?

Are Undergraduates Actually Learning Anything? Academically Adrift: Limited Learning on College Campuses By Richard Arum and Josipa Roksa The Chronicle carries an extract from what sounds like an extremely interesting new book. The paper reports that, drawing on survey responses, transcript data, and results from the Collegiate Learning Assessment (a standardized test taken by students …

Free books for freshers

Persuading freshers to read Last year St Andrews gave a novel to all freshers to get them reading, discussing and engaging with each other. This year, according to theBookseller.com, the scheme seems to have expanded: Nearly 18,000 freshers across five UK universities have been given copies of a winning or shortlisted Man Booker novel for …