Due to the current Covid-19 situation, the conference is postponed to October 2021.
Instead the organizers invite you to a two-day webinar on the original dates of the conference event.
Read more
Date: October 19-20, 2020
Venue: Uppsala University, The Main Building, Biskopsgatan 3, 753 10 Uppsala, Sweden
Fee: Non-members: 200 Euros
PaTHES members: 175 Euros
Phd-students: 125 Euros
Deadline for submission: February 28, 2020
Call for abstracts: 
Read here
Submit abstract: Abstracts should be send as a word-document to: phec2020@humsam.uu.se
Registration deadline: June 17, 2020
Registration: Opens on April 3, 2020 here
“The crisis of the university” is a familiar topos in contemporary discussions about higher education. It is said that the University is facing untold threats from, inter alia, the anti-intellectualism of populist politicians and authoritarian regimes, the commodification of knowledge resulting from neo-liberal ideas about utility and international competition, the politicization of teaching and learning arising out of identity movements, the fragmenting of the university in response to stakeholder demands, and so forth.
This conference poses the question: Is this really the case? And, if so, what exactly is being threatened?
The aim of the meeting is to take a serious look at what is ultimately at stake, among other things, by examining the roots of these developments in terms of our conceptions of what is useful knowledge, why it is desirable and what is required to establish, maintain and develop it through our institutions of higher education.
Keynote speakers
- Keri Facer, Professor of Educational and Social Futures, University of Bristol; Zennström Chair in Climate change Leadership, Uppsala University
- Steve Fuller, Auguste Comte Chair in Social Epistemology, The University of Warwick
Important dates:
- November 1, 2019: Call for abstracts
- February 28, 2020: Deadline for submission of abstracts
- April 3, 2020: Conference acceptance letters are sent out and registration opens
- June 17, 2020: Registration deadline
- September 7, 2020: Conference program is published
- October 19-20, 2020: The PHEC conference 2020 takes place in Uppsala
Call for Abstracts
We invite abstracts outlining in brief analyses of the most pressing challenges confronting the university today.
Examples of topics that may be relevant include:
- the casualization of faculty
- the rising costs of higher education
- limitations on academic freedom
- globalization
- digitalization
- politicization and polarization
- student preparedness
The scholarly approach to such questions can come from a variety of disciplines and perspectives. We welcome contributions from all fields of study, and from scholars at all levels, from PhD students to experienced senior researchers, who want to contribute to the development of the theoretical and empirical study of higher education.