Knowledge and the University Re-claiming Life

For hundreds of years, knowledge has been central in understanding the university. Over recent decades, however, it is the economic value of knowledge that has come to the fore. Now, in a post-truth world, knowledge is also treated with suspicion and has become a vehicle for ideologies. Knowledge and the University combats all these ways of thinking. Its central claim is that knowledge is of value because of its connection with life. Knowledge is of life, from life, in life and for life. With an engaging philosophical discussion, and with a consideration of the evolution of higher education institutions, this book: Examines ways in which research, teaching and learning are bound up with life; Looks to breathe new life into the university itself; Widens the idea of the knowledge ecology to embrace the whole world; Suggests new roles for the university towards culture and the public sphere. Knowledge and the University is a radical text that looks to engender nothing less than a new spirit of the university. It offers a fascinating read for policy makers, institutional leaders, academics and all interested in the future of universities.

Part I The university and life; 1 Life in truth and truth in life; 2 The real thing; 3 Re-placing the humanities; 4 Where's the life in academic knowledge?; Part II The spirit of knowledge; 5 More than mere debate; 6 A will to know; 7 Living with darkness; 8 Edifying knowledge; 9 A culture of lively discourse; Part III Cultivating knowledge in the university; 10 Living reason; 11 Widening the knowledge ecology; 12 Reaching out

Ronald Barnett is Emeritus Professor of Higher Education, Institute of Education, University College London, UK. Søren S.E. Bengtsen is Associate Professor at the Centre for Teaching Development and Digital Media and Deputy Director of the Centre for Higher Education Futures, Aarhus University, Denmark.