Overview
- Presents a humanistic vision of higher education
- Reaffirms the importance of academic freedom in thinking about the state of contemporary academia
- Reorients the university from a knowledge economy to a knowledge society
Part of the book series: Palgrave Critical University Studies (PCU)
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Keywords
- knowledge society
- Erik Olin Wright
- academic freedom
- public good
- knowledge economy
About this book
This book theorises the public university as a real utopia, drawing upon the work of the American sociologist Erik Olin Wright. The book explores institutional democracy, academic freedom and the curriculum as the real utopian 'constituents' of the public university. In doing so, the author puts forward an argument for the redevelopment of public universities, seeking to do justice to both a radical vision and practical feasibility. This imaginative reconstruction of the university advances debate in the sociology and philosophy of higher education.
Reviews
“This is a tremendous book, scoring on several levels. It is visionary but realist, goes at pace with a rare accessibility, has an intellectual backbone in drawing on E.O. Wright’s work on real utopias, has wide sweep and yet is packed with sharp observations and empirical detail, exudes a critical approach but conveys glimmers of hope, and offers glimpses of universities realising their utopian promise. This book deserves to be read.” (Ronald Barnett, Emeritus Professor of Higher Education, University College London Institute of Education, UK)
Authors and Affiliations
About the author
Martin Aidnik is an Estonian sociologist. He is a researcher at Kaunas University of Technology, Lithuania. His scholarly interests include the philosophy and sociology of higher education and European studies. His work has been published in journals such as History of the Human Sciences, Constellations and Humanity & Society.
Bibliographic Information
Book Title: The Public University as a Real Utopia
Book Subtitle: Towards a Renewal of Higher Education
Authors: Martin Aidnik
Series Title: Palgrave Critical University Studies
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan Cham
eBook Packages: Education, Education (R0)
Copyright Information: The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2024
Hardcover ISBN: 978-3-031-59356-7Due: 04 August 2024
Softcover ISBN: 978-3-031-59359-8Due: 04 August 2024
eBook ISBN: 978-3-031-59357-4Due: 04 August 2024
Series ISSN: 2662-7329
Series E-ISSN: 2662-7337
Edition Number: 1
Number of Pages: X, 160
Number of Illustrations: 5 b/w illustrations, 2 illustrations in colour