Date: May 3, 2021, 14.00-17.00
Venue: Online. A Zoom-link for the webinar will be shared closer to the event
Fee: Free
Registration deadline: April 28, 2021
Over the last fifty years or so, the size of universities and enrollment numbers have grown rapidly, and their institutional power and societal entanglements have increased as well. In the wake of this rapid growth, questions about the societal responsibility of universities and the higher education curriculum emerge. Ideally, we would hope to see universities provide a ‘buffer zone’ (Nixon, 2008) or a ‘safe zone’ (Rider, 2018) between the political interests of the state and the self-interest of individuals and the market economy. But are universities contributing to offering such a safe space? And if so, do they do it equally to all, or are they, perhaps unintentionally, only granding it to certain privileged groups?
Only for HEPP members
This HEPP-meeting begins with three short scene-setting perspectives from the three organisers, followed by a facilitated workshop in which participants engage in a collective thought-experiment through answering the questions: ‘What would a society without universities look like – and how would we envision their reinvention?
Open for all interested
The HEPP-meeting concludes with a keynote talk by Professor and Associate Vice-President David J. Hornsby, Carleton University, Canada – followed by Q&A and an open plenary discussion with the audience.