tim on reclaiming uni

tim ingold’s manifest on reclaiming uni

via dgi – tim ingold – 11 6 25 and nika dubrovsky bsky post next day [https://bsky.app/profile/nikadubrovsky.bsky.social/post/3m4zvyfnpt22b]:

University of the Future and how to build it reclaimingouruniversity.wordpress.com

notes/quotes from manifesto:

The Manifesto

Welcome to the Reclaiming Our University! Originating at the University of Aberdeen, the movement Reclaiming Our University has written a Manifesto to reclaim the academic world and reshape it in a more communal sense (in our case, the University of Aberdeen).

THE MANIFESTO

1\ We, scholars, students, staff and alumni of the University of Aberdeen, call for fundamental reform of the principles, ethos and organisation of our university, in order (1) that it should be restored to the community to which it belongs and (2) that it can fulfil its civic purpose in a manner appropriate to our times, in the defence of democracy, peaceful coexistence and human flourishing.

to me.. if any form of democratic admin (any form of m\a\p).. not peaceful, not floursihing

2\ We stand at a pivotal moment in the long history of our university, a fork in the path that offers two ways forward. One is to follow the business model of higher education to its logical conclusion, in a competition for students, research funding and ratings that values constant change as an end in itself. The other is to rediscover the civic purpose of the university as a necessary component of the constitution of a democratic society, with the responsibility for educating its citizens and furnishing them with the wisdom and understanding that will enable them to fashion a world fit for future generations to live in.

again.. cancerous distractions..

the thing we’ve not yet tried/seen: the unconditional part of left to own devices ness

[‘in an undisturbed ecosystem ..the individual left to its own devices.. serves the whole’ –dana meadows]

there’s a legit use of tech (nonjudgmental exponential labeling) to facil the seeming chaos of a global detox leap/dance.. for (blank)’s sake..

ie: whatever for a year.. a legit sabbatical ish transition

otherwise we’ll keep perpetuating the same song.. the whac-a-mole-ing ness of sea world.. of not-us ness

(3 is para nika shared on fb above)

4\ In our university we will:

  • Create an environment for free, open-minded and unprejudiced debate, which stands out as a beacon of wisdom, tolerance and humanity.
  • Defend our freedom to undertake research and teaching in the pursuit of truth, against the constraints, both internal and external to the institution, which threaten to curtail it.
  • Restore the trust that underpins both professionalism and collegiality, by removing the conditions of line and performance management, and of surveillance, which lead to its erosion.
  • Bring together research and teaching as complementary aspects of an education that carries a responsibility of care.
  • Abstain from the egregious language of business that would divide the university between ‘employers’, ‘employees’ and ‘customers’.
  • Restore the governance of the university, and control over its affairs, to the community of scholars, students, staff and alumni to which it rightfully belongs.

to me.. too many cancerous distractions.. ie: debate, defend, against, professionalism, collegiality, research, teaching, responsibility, governance, control, rightfully, ..

10\ The freedom we seek in our university, and wish to defend, is one that confers upon the imagination the right to roam, without fear or favour, unhindered by predetermined aims and objectives. But this right also carries personal, moral and professional *responsibilities. We are responsible to our students and to the university community as a whole, and we are responsible for the wider societal and environmental consequences of what we do. We have to **trust that members of our academic community, whatever their rank or status, will exercise their freedom wisely. There can be no freedom without trust. Loss of trust is the greatest enemy of academic freedom since it leads to the replacement of autonomy and self-determination with surveillance and control.

*to me.. aka: people telling other people what to do

**rather.. need to trust each/all peoples’ itch-in-the-soul

nothing to date has gotten to the root of problem

legit freedom will only happen if it’s all of us.. and in order to be all of us.. has to be sans any form of measuring, accounting, people telling other people what to do

how we gather in a space is huge.. need to try spaces of permission where people have nothing to prove to facil curiosity over decision making.. because the finite set of choices of decision making is unmooring us.. keeping us from us..

ie: imagine if we listen to the itch-in-8b-souls 1st thing everyday & use that data to connect us (tech as it could be.. ai as augmenting interconnectedness)

15\ Many kinds of management have the potential to erode trust, including ‘line management’ and ‘performance management’. 

rather..  any form of measuring, accounting, people telling other people what to do erodes/compromises trust

again.. the thing we’ve not yet tried/seen: the unconditional part of left to own devices ness

there’s a legit use of tech (nonjudgmental exponential labeling) to facil the seeming chaos of a global detox leap/dance.. for (blank)’s sake..

ie: whatever for a year.. a legit sabbatical ish transition

otherwise we’ll keep perpetuating the same song.. the whac-a-mole-ing ness of sea world.. of not-us ness

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